Sirius Encounters
by benzo-hime
Summary: A Sirius/OC fic. Somewhat smutty, but the plot won't disappoint you (I hope * *). Aife, a Slytherin 6th year, never expected to crush on a Gryffindor, nevermind the cousin of her tormentor, Narcissa Black. (Also I know the title is bad. sorry. sorta.)
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: OC/Sirius

PSA: I don't own any characters, except my OCs and the situations I put them in. That being said, if you wanna borrow an idea or character, feel free. Just PM me about it before or after because I'd love to see how it goes.

November 8th 2015 edit

note: I just fixed up a couple inconsistencies in this chapter. I hadn't had the plot completely thought out when I wrote the first chapter so there were some small things which needed to be changed. If you've already read this, it's not necessary to reread it. I mean, you can if you want to. Tell me what you think if you do :)

Wednesday

Limp, dishwater blonde hair hung into Aife's eyes while she painted. Ever since she'd been accepted into Hogwarts Aife was fascinated with the moving paintings. The spell to make them come alive wasn't easy, it had taken her a month to get it right. Some highly unfortunate accidents were involved in that month.

She blinked her large amber eyes, trying to mimic them with her paintbrush. Today was her first self portrait since 5th grade. She was anxious to see the improvement. Aife also rather wondered what she was like from a third person standpoint. Did that make her narcissistic, or just philosophical?

Aife painted her heavy lids, adding touches of mauve and a faded red as lowlights. She was running low on Crimson and Ochre. No wonder, she mainly painted portraits. Aife made a mental note to visit Boon & Magg's Art Shop this Hogsmeade weekend.

Aife made bright pearly highlights on her cheekbones and Cupid's bow. Done.

The sun was beginning to set. An errant gold ray bounced off the clock, reading 6pm. October dusk was Aife's favourite weather. It was perfect temperature for a jumper, skirt, and wooly tights. She donned her favorite jumper and knitted hat, the dark green one with a little patch of flowers stitched into the center, and made a mental note that the portrait would be ready to charm in five days. She could, hypothetically, use a charm to make the paint dry, but it was more prone to cracking when she did that. Aife was far too proud of that portrait to allow it cracks. Plus the paint was thick in many places, hence easier cracking.

"Oi, Sullivan!" Peter shouted from across the hallway before Aife could duck back into the exit of the nearby secret passage way. It led up to a small turret, which was unreachable unless you fed a lock of hair to the Japanese cat demon statue in a nearby classroom. Aife used the turret to paint, amongst other things.

"What now, Pettigrew?"

"Could I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Sure," she replied reluctantly, not wanting to cut time out of her evening activities. Aife wasn't a big fan of Pettigrew. The boy didn't have an original thought in his head and he was part of that cocky group of Gryffindors boys.

Peter Pettigrew stepped outside the portrait hole with her and wiped a nervous hand through his hair. It was a poor man's version of James Potter messing up his own hair. Typical Pettigrew, mimicking Potter and Black.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me, this coming weekend... ?" His voice cracked on the last syllable. Peter cleared his throat. He was rather smaller than his friends and had recently had his voice drop. Apparently he was still working out the kinks.

"Uhh..." Aife was taken aback. This was the last thing she was expecting. "Is there any particular reason you're asking me now? We're not particularly close, are we?"

"No, I suppose not, I just thought, you know, you're a good looking broad and I'm a good looking guy," Peter trailed off, intending to flatter and dazzle her. Aife wondered how the boy got sorted into Gryffindor, he was nervous as a mouse.

Aife raised a brow. "Modest, as well."

Peter looked hopeful and opened his mouth, but caught the sarcasm before he said something stupid. "Right, well. What do you say? I think we'd have a good time together."

"I'm flattered by your offer, but I'm afraid I already agreed to go shopping with Alice and Vasiliya. We were gonna get special permission to go to Diagon Alley for the weekend." This was, of course, a lie. An obvious one. But the boy had looked so pathetic that she couldn't outright refuse him. But this was an easy way out, as long as he played along. Actually, Pettigrew would probably believe it.

"Oh." Peter looked as though he'd been hit by a _stupefy_. "Right then, that's settled," he said awkwardly.

Aife glanced outside a large window jutting out of the castle down the corridor. A large, watery sun was getting ready to kiss the horizon. Stupid Peter. "Groovy, catch ya later."

It was time for a sunset swim.

Aife liked to go swimming in the lake on the occasional dusk. It was just her routine to do it once or twice a week. Aife wouldn't strike many as the type of girl that made lists and filled out schedule planners, but the reality of the situation was that Aife was far too absentminded to be able to function without the lists and routines, which she found soothing.

She slipped off her school clothes to reveal a thin navy one piece. Aife shivered. She took a thermos from her schoolbag. _Being raised by muggles had its perks_ , she thought. Aife must have been the only Slytherin to be raised by muggles, as far as she knew.

Aife downed the Calidus Cruer Draught and felt her entire body warm up. The last step, gillyweed. Gillyweed was quite hard to get a hold of, and she usually had to stock up in Diagon Alley. Didn't come cheap, either. One time, last year, Aife's cat had eaten half her stash. She had to sprint to the prefect bathroom and drop her dumb kitty in the bath. It was disastrous at first, but Neptune had lived up to her name and found it fascinating once she got used to the idea of water. And swimming.

Aife swallowed the gillyweed whole, knowing full well by now that more chewing meant more tasting. She had 30 seconds to cast a disillusionment charm on her things and dive in.

Aide loved the eternal cocoon water provided her with. Her friend, Yokslan, was a mermaid who lived about a 10 minute swim out from the northwest coast of the lake. Yokslan was the daughter of the Chief's brother, so she was somewhat part of the monarchy in the lake.

Aife hadn't realized the full extent of Mer culture until last year. Over the summer, Aife had worked tirelessly to learn Mermish, finally finishing up her studies in late August. She had grown up in a muggle orphanage. It meant she had a lot of free time, as most kids, and adults, in the orphanage thought Aife was very weird, and didn't desire to make any sort of association with her.

Aife could see why most Slytherins didn't like muggles, and she wasn't fond of most, but some were quite fascinating people. Not that she'd actually met that type in person yet.

After fighting off two grindylows, Aife had finally made it to Yokslan's cottage. Cottage may have been a strong word for the thing, but Aife wasn't sure how the name of Mer homes translated to English. The pronunciation was something like a retching sound followed by a groan.

Yokslan spotted Aife and swam out. "Aife, how good it is to see you! How very good! I have news!" She burbled excitedly.

"Really?"

"I am going to be arranged to be married!" Yokslan's face lit up. As soon as every higher up mermaid hit 20, their relatives arranged a marriage.

"Do you know where it is yet? Shit, I mean, who? Do you know who you will marry?" Aife quickly amended. Saying she was fluent in Mermish sounded a lot better than saying she was half fluent. She got a bit rusty over this holiday though. Last school year, Yokslan had struck a deal with Aife. If Aife would tell her about the upper wold, as she called it, Yokslan would teach her Mermish in return. They usually met a couple times a week.

Yokslan laughed. "No, no, I'll find out in a month. I hope he's fit."

"Me too, good luck. I've yet to have a boyfriend." Aife's life was a string of unrequited crushes. She was starting to think she might have to settle for someone like Pettigrew, although she was fairly certain she'd rather be alone. Perhaps she should buy a few more cats.

The concept of boyfriends were entirely foreign to merfolk. They did not believe in love, and often saw it as a mental deficiency, in extreme cases. Yokslan had told Aife the story of her half cousin, who had fallen in love with the chief's son (Aife wasn't entirely sure how this worked, she hadn't thought to ask about Mer policies on incest) and had been extradited.

"So, did she die?" Aife remembered asking.

"No, she had turned into a human. It's very painful." Yokslan had said.

Yokslan said nothing about boyfriends. She thought love was very interesting, but couldn't understand it well. Yokslan had asked Aife to describe it many times, but, never having been in true love, Aife simply couldn't.

Aife's hour was nearly up as she approached the shore. She could feel the telltale itching near her gills and tingling at the webbing on her hands and feet. Aife lay at the shore, basking in the moonlight. It was a full moon.

It was clearly evident that it was too late to calmly walk back into the school. She'd surely earn herself a detention doing something disgusting, like squeezing bubotubers. No, she'd much rather lay blissfully on the shore, and have a staring contest with the moon.

Aife wasn't entirely sure how long she had been lying at the edge of the water, but she had clearly not noticed approaching footsteps.

Which is how she had found herself looking up at Sirius Black, wearing nothing but her panties. Instinctively, Aife covered her breasts. The one piece was near see-through, she only wore it to private swimming sessions. The boy gave an impish grin. She blushed furiously. Stupid Gryffindors. Constantly poking their noses where they're unwanted.

"What're you doing out here?" Aife demanded.

"I could ask you the very same question." Black was still grinning. Aife wasn't sure if she should be embarrassed or flattered. He _was_ the most attractive boy in their year, or at least top three.

"I asked you first," she said childishly.

"It's a secret."

"Ditto."

"Please, you were obviously skinny-dipping."

"You caught me. I'm a huge exhibitionist," Aife deadpanned. Crap, Aife thought. She would have to change eventually. She couldn't just stand around, having a conversation with Sirius Black, in the nude, all night.

Sirius looked her up and down. Who'd have thought the Slytherin girl they dared Peter to ask out earlier was this attractive. Well, she looked fine in a school uniform, but this was something else. Her wet hair clung to her head, making her eyes look even bigger than before. She looked, there was no other word for it, cute. Who'd have thought a Slytherin girl could look cute?

"Nothing you haven't seen before," Aife said as she colored once again.

"Oh, we've had sex?" Black asked, genuinely surprised. He must have been pretty drunk to not remember. Perhaps during last years winter–

"No, you bloody git. I just meant that you get around, case in point. Merlin, how many girls have you been with, to have asked that question?" Aife cut his thoughts off quickly.

"I lost track in early last year, to be perfectly honest."

"For Merlin's sake, you were barely fifteen! Go play with a stick." It wasn't her best line, she realized. She had been off on the age by about ten years.

"I don't need to, love. Like you said, I get around, case in point." Sirius glanced at her breasts again.

"You're disgusting." She turned around, picked up her wand and began to dry herself off.

Sirius was fully enjoying the view. He had a strong urge to cup her ass when she'd turned around, and the urge doubled when she'd bent over. To avoid being hexed into next year, Sirius restrained himself. Aife quickly dressed and Sirius couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"You know, I think I preferred you before," he joked, trying to make conversation again.

"That's because you're a total pig who values women for their bodies instead of their personalities." Aife stalked off, resisting her urge to whop him upside the head. What a disappointment fifteen year old boys were. Aife supposed she should've scolded herself for having high standards in the first place.

Despite his better judgement, Sirius followed. To be fair, Remus could, hypothetically, get out of the shack at any moment. Prongs most likely had it under control, but there was always that possibility. Sirius had to make sure this girl was protected. That, and he was intrigued, he had to admit.

"Are you stalking me?" Aife finally asked, after he had trailed behind her for the last five minutes. Aife's charm had begun to wear off and she was shivering slightly.

"Would you like my coat?" Black asked politely, ignoring her question.

"A pig in a man's clothing. Very Animal Farm."

"I rather liked that book, actually."

Aife was very surprised. "Aren't you a pureblood? How do you even know it?" She momentarily forgot their earlier enmity.

"I could say the same to you. A Slytherin?! Making references to muggle literature? Has the river Styx stopped flowing?" He barked a laugh. "Well, I can't say I'm entirely ignorant. Besides, muggles are fascinating. Their world is very similar to ours, and they have many of the same problems. It's interesting to see it from the perspective of a wizard. My mum would kill me if she heard me now." Sirius gave a sardonic laugh.

This had thrown Aife off a beat. Airhead playboy who reads classical muggle literature. Although mommy issues was one she could've guessed.

"What's your favourite book?" he asked her.

"I really liked A Portrait of Dorian Grey. Wilde's comedies are excellent as well."

"You know Wilde was actually a pureblood who was shunned for writing books for muggles? Also his comedies are far superior to Dorian Grey, although it's hypothesized that Dorian Grey was a real man. A muggle who was driven insane by his wizard friends. The little traces of magic overwhelmed him and he turned to drink and opium." It was nice to have someone to talk to about books. Remus had read some muggle books, but he preferred wizard authors.

"Huh. How are you so learned, yet still such an ass?"

"Bad blood, probably."

Aife had no clue what to say to this. She supposed any other Slytherin would assure him of his pureblood status. In fact, his cousin Narcissa was a sixth year as well and wouldn't hesitate to curse him for talking that way.

"I'm sorry, I've made things awkward. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. Plus, your talk of muggle books reminded me of sneaking out to muggle libraries as a kid. Dark times," he said, with a small laugh that died in his throat.

"You are much more interesting than I thought, Sirius Black. And these are dark times. Maybe not for you, but muggleborns are disappearing left, right and center. It's not nice."

"That wasn't very Slytherin of you." He quipped.

"I didn't grow up in a very Slytherin household."

"Wish I could trade families with you."

"You can't trade something for nothing." It was an awkward silence, again. Her fault, this time.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I never knew them. Grew up in an orphanage."

"How was it?"

Aife bristled a bit. The truth was, she had been raised in a muggle orphanage. Aife had assumed she was a muggleborn after receiving her letter and learning a bit more about the wizarding world. She had never imagined she'd be put in Slytherin, and often wondered if the Sorting Hat had made a mistake.

"Eh, it was alright." Deciding she could trust him, Aife said, "Do you know how to get back in the castle without getting spotted by Filch?" Yes, Sirius was a Gryffindor, but he was alright, despite his womanizing. Which should be fine as long as she resisted his charm, which Aife was sure she could manage as long as he kept on making stupid remarks like earlier. And he was a Gryffindor, so it was a given. Sirius was loads better than his brother, who was a third year and already friends with some really nasty kids.

Black grinned widely, and led her back into the castle carefully. Currently, he had James's invisibility cloak. He took it out and tossed it over himself, and lifted a corner so Aife could get in with him. It was cramped but they made it.

Aife felt hyper aware of Sirius's body, brushing it with her own far too often. She had to admit he was very handsome, the kind that was hard to ignore. The boy even smelled good, for Merlin's sake.

They crept through the corridors, Sirius guiding her through to the lower levels of the castle. He suddenly had a great idea.

They turned a few rights and Aife began to protest, "This isn't the way to the dungeons!"

"Really?" Sirius asked sarcastically. They had arrived at a portrait of a bowl of fruit. He tickled the pear, which began to giggle, although Aife swore she heard it say, "Every bloody day!" dejectedly as the painting swung open.

"Master Sirius!" a squashy house elf said, in a far lower voice than the average elf. "Welcome! So pleased to have ya."

"Dinner for two please, thank you, Arno." Sirius said, smiling at him genially.

Aife was overwhelmed. Was Sirius Black taking her out to dinner, or was she hallucinating? Or was she overreacting and Black was just hungry?

They settled into their midnight snack, sausages and mash, with some roasted vegetables. It was delicious.

Aife had no clue what to think of the whole thing. They chatted animatedly about books, their favourite authors and even, for a while, Herbology. Aife and Sirius had Herbology, Divination, and Runes together. Aife was very good at Herbology and decent at Runes, but couldn't see anything in Divination. Not to mention they had a horrid teacher named Onclois. Onclois had a tendency to exaggerate, and her classroom smelled particularly strongly of a certain herb. Then again, they actually had a lesson coming up where they would use cannabis to uncloud their third eye. Sort of ironic, since the monthly smoking made the room very cloudy indeed. Students could skip class that day, although not many did. It was the main reason Aife took that class, and she had a suspicion that she wasn't the only one.

Herbology, however, came natural to her. She found plants very soothing, and often drew or painted them. It was easily Sirius's worst subject. He found plants very confusing, and couldn't tell them apart to save his life.

By the end of the night, Sirius and Aife had agreed to sit together in the Friday unclouding of the third eye. Aife had even offered to help him with Herbology, which he graciously accepted.

"You know, you're not too bad. For a Slytherin," he said, leaning onto his elbows.

"Watch out, you might just find yourself friends with a Slytherin," she said, knowing full well she did not think of Sirius Black as a friend. Aife wanted to, she really did, but she was female.

"I don't think that'd be too bad," he said with a smile. All thoughts of Remus and the other marauders had flown out of his head.

Sirius walked Aife to the dungeons and she hesitated.

"Are you gonna use the password in one of your little pranks?" she asked, before whispering "Python" at the door and stepping aside allow it to swing open.

"Maybe," he admitted, giving her a roguish grin.

She smiled at him and softly said goodnight, slipping out from under the cloak. Aife had a strong urge to kiss his cheek but resisted. As cute as he was, Aife refused to be one of those simpering girls who lusted after Sirius Black.

Sirius returned to the shrieking shack, thinking of the girl. He now wished it had been him instead of Peter who was dared to ask her out. But James had stop daring him to ask out girls a while ago, deciding it was cruel when they accepted and Sirius had to tell them it was a bet. Although, mostly, he just suffered in silence, deciding he'd rather have a boring evening than feel guilty for a couple hours.

He couldn't wait til Friday, when they had decided to partner up. Remus wouldn't care about switching partners, although Sirius wasn't entirely sure who Aife sat with. As long as it wasn't Narcissa things should be alright. The spoiled brat. What kind of mother names a girl Narcissa? He grimaced at that thought. His aunt was exactly the type of woman who would. Clearly, the lady didn't know her history.

When he got back to the Shrieking Shack it was already dawn, and Remus had transformed back to his human form. He had deep scratches on his bicep and bruises all over. His breath was shallow, and James looked pissed.

"What the hell, Padfoot, where have you been?"

Sirius shifted guiltily. "I had to help that girl get back in the castle."

"And that took you all night?" James demanded.

"Well, no, we got distracted."

James snorted derisively. "So, let me get this straight. You ditched your friends, on a full moon, to go fuck a broad?"

"It's not like that, she's not like that," Sirius tried to explain, but James cut him off.

"So you ditched us to chase a broad? And if I'm not mistaken, a broad who's one of the Slytherin Chasers. Seems to be a reversal of roles," James said humourlessly. Peter let out the tiniest laugh but quickly stifled it.

"Look, mate, I was helping her out, nothing more, nothing less."

"Whatever."

Lupin listened in on this exchange, still recovering from his recent transformation. "Leave it be, Prongs. It doesn't matter."

Thursday

That morning, Sirius took some pepper up potion, as per custom post-full moon, except on weekends. James had chewed him out pretty bad, before collapsing on the bed with a loud snore. Sirius felt bad, but he knew that if it were Lily, James would've done the same in an instant. Not that Lily would've let him.

Neptune wound herself between Aife's arm and the crook of her side. She was a funny cat, blue-grey fur and intelligent blue eyes. Aife wanted to put a talking spell on her sometime soon.

Aife couldn't sleep, despite her exhaustion. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Sirius Black. Was he simply trying to get into her pants, after seeing her naked? Or was there more to him? Certainly, he had displayed intelligence and a knack for picking good books, but she'd already known the former due to their Ancient Runes course together. They were both quite good at Runes. Aife liked them because they made her feel like a powerful mystical sorceress, like in novels for muggle teens.

The illusion was shattered when she looked in the mirror. She had thought about spelling her hair into a nicer color many times, but reminded herself that appearance was all she had left from her parents. Maybe someday they would recognize her, if either of them were still alive.

Aife thought about her parents often. She hypothesized that a pureblood witch had had a child with a muggle, out of wedlock, and decided to just drop her here, without telling her family. Aife now hoped not, since almost all English purebloods were related, and she didn't fancy the idea of being cousins, however distant, with Black.

Bloody hell, she needed to get that boy out of her head.

She'd be bullied worse than ever if her fellow Slytherins ever found out she fancied Black. Narcissa would surely murder her, or at least humiliate her, a lot. Aife would stand her ground though, like always. Aife had often wondered if the Sorting Hat had messed up. There were only two girls in her year whom she didn't despise. But they were either neutral or semi friendly to her, based on Narcissa's monthly cycle.

Miyo, one of said friends, was poking her. Her twin Moko was Narcissa's minion, but Miyo wasn't so easy swayed. Aife stretched luxuriously on her four poster.

"C'mon, we've got practice!"

"Fuck."

Miyo Kamimoze was faux shy, except around friends. Her bitchy and often self-entitled manner could be annoying, but the two girls had many common interests. And Aife's generally passive personality meshed with Miyo's quietly bitchy one.

Azriela was the type of girl that said "lovely" a lot, and really meant it. She had a penchant for velvet hair scrunchies and floral print. It wasn't Aife's style in the least but she could see why Azriela Parkinson liked it.

The other girl in their dorm remained neutral to them all, almost always. Aife had no clue how to feel about Jane. Jane didn't seem to do anything except study and eat sugar, despite being as slim as Aife. Maybe even more so, and definitely slimmer than Azriela.

Azriela often complained that Aife was underfed, and it was fine most of the time, but occasionally the girl got on her nerves so much that Aife hexed her.

Miyo shoved Aife out of bed.

"Come on, we're already a chaser short. Wilkins is in the hospital wing. Got jinxed by some Gryffindors," Moko flicked her nose.

"I'm sure he had it coming."

"I'm sure he did too, but that doesn't change the fact we're a chaser short."

The pitch had a scenic fog rolling over it, obscuring everything under the stands. Aife could hardly see her captain, Primus Ewell. Ewell was a heavyset boy, with a strong jaw and small almond eyes. He wasn't altogether unattractive, outwardly, but Aife had yet to meet a more brutal boy. Fittingly, he was a beater.

Only Slytherins and Ravenclaws held practice at dawn on school days. It was exhausting, but it paid off, despite them typically only playing for an hour.

They rose high above the fog. Ewell's girlfriend, Antoinette Bulstrode, constructed stone barriers in the air, creating an obstacle course for the team. Antoinette was the keeper, and despite her having decent skill, Aife felt there was some favouritism in play.

Aife and Regulus tossed the quaffle back in forth, increasing their speed and distance. Halfway through the play, Aife realized this was Black's brother. She had known, of course, but it didn't really register until now. Regulus was known as the baby of the team, only in third year. He was a great chaser though, Aife couldn't even imagine how good he'd be when he hit 6th year.

The first game of the season was coming up, Saturday after next. Aife had a nervous excitement. She wondered how Regulus was going to do against Sirius as a keeper. It was Regulus's first year on the team.

Aife was quite relieved to make it back on the team this year. She and Miyo weren't close with the rest of the team, and only talked to them if it was quidditch-related.

Miyo and Aife went down to breakfast after practice, where Aife saw Sirius. He caught her eye, winked, and turned back to talking to James. James noticed this exchange and scowled at her. Time to be on my guard, Aife thought. She wouldn't put it past James to play a nasty prank on her. She heard what he'd done to Snape over the years, and seen some of it personally. It wasn't pretty. Aife wasn't Snape's biggest fan, but she could imagine there would be backlash to stealing James's boyfriend for a night.

"What was that all about?" Miyo asked. Aife launched into the tale of the other night, and from when Peter asked her out and ending with getting back in the dorm.

"That explains the circles under your eyes."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, I don't see why you go in that lake. Yeah, Yokslan seems cool, but there's about 50 different lethal creatures in there. And Gillyweed tastes like spaghetti with bogeys. Honestly, you should've been a Gryffindor. Seems like the sort of mental thing they'd do."

"Only you," Aife laughed, "Could hear about a night out with a boy and focus on the most irrelevant detail."

"It's not irrelevant. None of that would've happened if you didn't go to the lake at night. Besides, it's not like you fancy Sirius, but I'm happy you had a night out with a cute boy."

"Well, yes, we're just friends. At least I think we might be," Aife did her best to conceal her blush by munching on some of her toast. "But, I was hoping you'd switch partners with me for Divination on Friday. Sirius and I were hoping to sit together. Or, at least, that's what we agreed on last night. Maybe it was all in the moment, who knows? I suppose I'll talk to him about it today."

"Did he really agree to be your partner? Wow. I suppose he really liked how you looked in that thing you call a bathing suit."

Aife's spirits fell a bit at that, but she protested anyway. "We actually have a lot in common."

"Yeah okay," Miyo gave her a weird look, "So you both sneak around the castle a lot. I don't think that's what attracted one of the marauders to you, so much as wanting to fuck you silly."

Aife cringed at the crude words and thought back to the scene. She remembered Sirius saying he'd prefer it if she kept her robes off. Was it just flirting? Or was he really just interested in her on a purely primal basis? Or was he at the time and now there's something more? Merlin, it's only been a night. The situation made her head spin.

Their later conversations made Aife doubt that he wanted to be friends just to get in her pants. Either that, or Sirius was really elaborate, and Merlin knows he didn't have to be to get with Aife. She wasn't even close to the same league as other girls he'd dated. Whenever anyone described her appearance, they almost always used "interesting". Mostly because she looked like an owl with her big amber eyes and heart shaped face. It created an interesting effect, for sure, but sexually appealing? Not particularly.

"C'mon, spacey Aife, we'll be late for Transfiguration."

Having Transfiguration first period was horrid. McGonagall, head of Gryffindor, was a strict woman, with more than one stick up her bum. It wasn't as bad before, but standards had tightened for NEWT level. It was only October, and yet they were already attempting to conjure something out of nothing. Aife had succeeded in creating inanimate objects so far, the biggest being a handsome dinner table. She'd also managed to conjure food, which Miyo and most of the class was still struggling with. Food meant a pumpkin and a baguette, but it was far better than nothing. McGonagall had even given her 10 points for the pumpkin. And another five when she sliced it open and discovered it wasn't rotten on the inside, as most conjured fruit was.

Aife suspected the reason she did well in classes was lack of close friends. Sure, Miyo was nice, but she spent most of her time studying and playing Quidditch. Miyo's parents had gotten her a snitch for her and Moko's last birthday. Moko had received a magic make up set which was highly reviewed in Witch Weekly. It seemed the twins' parents knew them well.

Miyo and Aife had Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, where their other friends, Vasiliya and Alice joined them. Vasi was horrid at Transfiguration, but made up for it in Charms. Vasiliya had a huge crush on James Potter and was ecstatic when Aife told the tale of her adventure last night.

"Yes, let's double date! I can slip James a love potion or something," She chittered excitedly.

"You'll need to, after the look he gave me this morning. He looked pissed. Also, I doubt you'd be the first to try and slip him a love potion. He'd probably already be dating Pomona Bletchley if Potter couldn't tell the difference between a love potion and pumpkin juice."

"Hmm," Miyo said, "They were probably out for a prank or something and Black ditched them for you."

"That's the impression I got as well," Aife replied. "How immature."

Alice just looked thoughtful at these news.

"And so, if you will open your books to page 78, you will find a diagram of the psyche. Below that, the various crystals connected to different regions of the brain." Onclois said, waving her wand and creating a larger version of the image to float to the front of the classroom. The divination room was smokey, with air thick enough to cut. It was difficult to see the diagram through the smog.

"Can anyone tell me what region of the brain moonstone pertains to? Mr. Lupin, perhaps?" She gave him a knowing smile and caused Sirius to give her glare.

What an odd reaction, thought Aife. Most of the school knew the nicknames they had for each other. Still, something felt off.

"It is responsible for the Id in the unconscious mind," Lupin recited off the page, giving her a pointed look. Odder still. Remus Lupin was a model student, and a prefect.

"Good." She looked disappointed he'd gotten it right. Professor Onclois was very much a teacher who played favourites. Onclois only liked two Ravenclaw girls and a Hufflepuff boy in Aife's class. One of said Ravenclaws was Vasiliya, who took great pride in this, despite agreeing that Onclois was bloody batty.

Aife caught Sirius's eye. He gave her his customary wink and began scribbling on a paper. Onclois had disappeared into the back of the classroom, likely to have a sip of some potion or another. It was well-known that she mellowed after disappearing for a few minutes. Her superior and pseudo-omnipotent manner softened into intoxicated airiness.

Sirius tapped the parchment and it folded itself into a paper airplane, landing gracefully on Aife's desk. "Remus says the change is cherry. Sit with me tomorrow?"

Aife glanced at Miyo. She raised her eyebrows, but nodded.

"Sure," she said, giving him a grin.

Lupin looked amused and whispered something in Sirius's ear. Sirius looked a bit guilty, but quickly recovered himself and nodded.

END NOTE/ So I don't usually take my fanfics very siriusly (heh) but this is different (I hope)! It might be a bit til the next chapter, since I'm trying to make them a decent length. I honestly can't tell you how long this fic will be (I'm guesstimating 40k words but we'll see), and trust me when I say it won't drag. The main focus is, as you already may have guessed, the relationship between Aife and Sirius. Some others may pop up :) This will be a somewhat smutty fic ;) That being said, I'm trying to keep it lighthearted and not overly dramatic. If anyone has any suggestions for me (either this fic, or prompts), feel free to PM me.

As for the next chapter, here's a spoiler: James had a dirty mind when it comes to pranks and payback.

I hope to have the next one up in a couple weeks.

Thanks for reading, I would appreciate any and all feedback you might have.

Chapter word count: 5,827


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: yay I got 2 favorites and a follow. This is so insignificant but honestly it made my day. Ok so warnings for this chapter are drug use and somewhat explicit sexual content (all within the M rating though). If you're not into smut, or know me personally and really don't want to see how my mind works in that department, feel free to stop reading here. This is supposed to be a love story and, c'mon, they're 16. I'm just being realistic.

an explanation: Aife uses the secret turret to paint, I should've clarified that she was coming from there when Peter asked her out. I didn't really have my ideas as solidified when I wrote the first chapter, but it's a bit clearer now. Only a bit though.

Remus turned to Sirius and whispered, "Ah, so this is the girl from last night?"

Sirius had the good grace to look a bit embarrassed and said, "mhm".

"Expand the horizons of your minds," Onclous said, giving a loud hiccup at the end. She attempted to play it off as a cough. "Through the crystals, we can harvest and identify the emotions of the mind!"

"Which crystal's for boredom?" Sirius muttered. Remus gave a wry grin.

They spent the rest of the period making crystal grids, as pertaining to the psyche. Aife just arranged hers by color.

"I can't believe she made the fucking moonstone comment, what a hag. She just takes any opportunity to show off!" Sirius burst out after class.

"Drop it mate, no need to be upset on my behalf," Remus said in his quiet tone.

"I'm no- well, it's not the only reason. Mostly I just hate that old cow. And she that she dropped hints about your problem."

Aife had hung back after class, hoping to talk to Sirius. Merlin, she really had become one of those simpering girls, hadn't she? The Slytherin in her couldn't help but listen in on their conversation.

More about the moonstone, huh, she thought. Who'd have that that comment was such a big issue big issue?

Miyo was arguing with Alice when Aife caught up with them.

"Well I think he's sweet," Alice said, giving Miyo a look.

Miyo scoffed. "If you're into Hufflepuff dough boys. None of those guys have even an ounce of personality."

Aife privately thought that this had less to do with Miyo's dislike of Frank Longbottom, Alice's longtime crush, and more to do with Professor Onclois going off on Miyo after she wrongly interpreted the crystals. Meanwhile, the professor had doted on Alice, switching moods like a telly.

Alice looked hurt, and let Miyo know that she could do her own divination homework. She stormed away before Aife could attempt to diffuse the situation.

Sighing, she turned to Miyo and said, "Did you have to?"

Miyo looked even angrier and said, "Try and tell me Longbottom's not a tosser. Alice could do so much better. Everyone knows that Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are a bunch of tossers."

Aife gave her a cold look and rushed to catch up with Alice. Aife liked Miyo, but she could be a real insensitive bitch once she felt comfortable around someone. Times like these, Miyo and her sister were a lot more alike than Aife was comfortable with. Slytherin girls were so catty.

Miyo was good for 'studying' with. And by that Aife meant that she and Miyo learned dark spells from books in the restricted section. They mostly did it in the bathroom haunted by a ghost named Myrtle, who threw tantrums and flooded the place at least a few times a week. One time, they found an excellent room to practice in, with a dummy and other odd magical objects and potions ingredients. Sadly, they couldn't find it again.

Most of the magic they practiced wasn't horribly dark, but more of a grey area. A darker grey, to be perfectly honest. Not that they'd ever used or learned anything too horrible (well, they did practice the Imperius curse on each other, but it was actually kinda fun. They'd performed pretty crazy gymnastics). Neither of them had any intention of flocking to Lord Voldemort however, as so many others had. Boys in their grade, such as Snape and Mulciber, were rumored to be Death Eaters already.

"Hey, Alice, are you alright? I'm sorry she had to be sour about Longbottom like that." Aife found her halfway down the spiral stairwell that led to the trapdoor of the Divination classroom.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just don't know if he'll ever notice me. And then what if we get together and I do think he's boring and I'll have spent all this time worrying about it for nothing?" Alice wailed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I doubt it'll be that way. Longbottom's very cool," Sirius said, his voice carrying out from behind them.

Alice looked surprised, and a bit embarrassed, but brightened at his statement. Aife gave Sirius a grateful look.

"How do you know?" she said in a small voice.

"He's a friend of ours. Not very close, I'll admit, but a friend all the same," Lupin said, gesturing to him and Sirius.

"Oh. You won't tell him I fancy him, will you?"

"Not unless you'd like us to," Sirius said, with his classic grin. It made Aife blush even when it wasn't directed at her. He was just so.. dazzling.

Alice returned his smile. Aife felt a tiny nub of jealousy push at her. She brushed it away, knowing just how crazy it was. You really can't afford to be jealous of Sirius Black, you'd go crazy.

By lunchtime, Aife was exhausted. She decided to have a kip in her four-poster, especially since she had next period free.

Aife dreamed of Sirius. He had stroked her cheek and they laughed together. This can't be a normal reaction, she thought. Had the git slipped her a love potion? For Merlin's sake she was becoming pathetic. It's only been a day, she reminded herself. Sirius had a drug-like effect on her. Was there anyway to make it stop? Sure, it would be all good and well if he returned her feelings, but he was a Gryffindor and she was a Slytherin. Aife was, after all, just Aife, the odd orphan girl, and he was... Sirius Black. But he did want to pair up with you for Divination, her mind nudged.

Aife was jolted out of her anxieties by a snide voice. "Hey Aife," Narcissa said cooly while Moko giggled.

"What do you want, Narcissa?" Aife replied, just as coldly.

"Oh," She dramatized the word. "Well, I, for one, was just wondering why you were muttering my cousin's name in your sleep."

Aife's face had surpassed red and turned purple. Shit shit shit shit bloody fucking goddamn shit.

"Would you like me to put in a good word with him for you?" She asked her lip curling at Aife's panicked expression.

Aife struggled to regain her composure. Did she insult Narcissa back, guaranteeing Narcissa would tell Sirius, just to embarrass Aife? Or, did she offer some kind of reward for her silence?

Aife gave a great sigh. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, you know, nothing... life threatening. How about a favor?"

Aife eyed the girl shrewdly. As much as she hated to admit it, Narcissa was beautiful. And not unintelligent, unfortunately for her. "What kind of favor?"

"That's to be decided."

"And if I don't want to do it?"

"I tell the red and gold Black all about your saucy little unconscious snogfest with him."

Aife blushed and glared. "Fine." She gave up on sleep, deciding to check up on her painting and then go to double Potions. Aife considered hexing Narcissa, but realized she could do nothing to retaliate without having her secret spilled.

Aife was filled with anticipation when she arrived at the trapdoor for Divination Friday. She had put on a bit of make up, making her lips look delicate and her eyes even bigger. It was a positive effect, but she was far too groggy to bother on most mornings.

Onclois waved a paisley-print shawl and dug around the back of her desk. She produced a large mason jar full of cannabis. Aife didn't have many muggle friends, but from what acquaintances she had, she knew most muggle teens would've had a heart attack if their teacher pulled out a big jar of weed. Onclois began to spectate the sticky stuff into small bowls for each pair, and setting it on the table. Ah, what a time to be alive, Aife thought. She had no clue how Dumbledore allowed this. Most muggle drugs were strictly forbidden at Hogwarts, with the exception of poppy milk (i.e. opium), which Pomphrey had kept locked up tight.

Aife gave Sirius a hesitant smile. He gestured to the bong on the desk before them, as if to say "Shall we?"

Aife grinned and swatted his arm, attempting to non-verbally indicate that they weren't supposed to start the "smoking ceremony" until Onclois had finished her lecture on the use of Cannabis in Ancient Greece. Aife caught the words "Cult of Dionysus" and stored it away in case they were being quizzed on this. The professor spent another 10 minutes on the Thracians' use of cannabis and then allowed them to proceed.

This was only the second time they got to do the smoking ceremony. It was very odd, being instructed by the teacher on how to break up the herbs, then to how to smoke them properly ("Inhale all the smoke and then take another breath, wait a few seconds, and let it all out! And mind you don't waste it!").

"You know, I hear Cannabis is an aphrodisiac," Sirius said suggestively.

It made Aife's stomach flutter, and yet turn over. "If you're just sitting and talking to me because you want to get into my pants, you can leave now." I'm such a romantic, she thought.

Sirius looked affronted. Aife couldn't tell if he was joking. "C'mon, it was just a bit of light hearted flirting. Surely, you can't be entirely immune to my charms?" A small grin lifted a corner of Sirius's mouth. Aife couldn't help but mimic it.

"Perhaps, you should try a different approach," she said.

"Mm, more the intellectual type?"

"Well, it'll take more than a couple winks to get me in your bed, that's for certain." Were they flirting? This was bad, she needed to fix this. I will not be a bimbo, she told herself.

"How about being friends?" she asked tentatively. This would help her reign in her own feelings, and, with any luck, suppress Sirius's man-slut tendencies.

"I thought we already were, love," he said, packing the bong. He tapped it, and it filled with water.

He gestured her towards it. The other students were following suit, and the room was filled with coughing and even more smoke than usual. Onclois just sat in the corner, looking into her crystal ball. It seemed she had gone ahead and helped herself before the lesson even started. Judging by her bloodshot eyes, anyway.

"Fair enough."

They passed the lesson, in true stoner spirit, talking about music. Mostly muggle music, although there were many wizards posing as muggles who were musicians. Most of the classical composers were, anyway.

"So, let me get this straight," Sirius said, eyes glazed. "You're not interested in me? Sensually? I mean, sexually? Although I suppose that applies as well."

Aife giggled and felt wholly carefree, but held to her resolve. "Nope!" She giggled a bit at the shocked expression on Sirius's face.

"So, you're gay?"

Aife smacked Sirius upside the head. "No, I'm not gay, you wanker, I'm just not interested in boys like you. Like I said, I wanna be friends." God knows I need them, she added in her head.

"Oh. But I thought..." Sirius looked as though this were a serious blow to his ego.

"Friends, Black." The plan had solidified a minute or two after she'd taken her first hit. The drug had, ironically cleared up her mind. She would be determined to remain friends with him. This way, he would always chase her if he did like her. And if he didn't, well, she wouldn't embarrass herself. Aife twirled her hair, smiling deviously.

"Friends don't call each other by last names, Aife."

Her heart melted a bit at her name on his tongue.

"Fair enough, Sirius."

Saturday, the day of the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match.

Aife awoke with butterflies in her stomach. She wished she could take a Calming Draught but it relaxed her too much, and could potentially impair her Chasing skills. She slid on the huge round glasses she kept in her nightstand. Thankfully, she had stopped wearing them in public by 4th year, determined to get out of her awkward phase.

Only an hour til the game, she thought, looking up at the alarm clock. Aife had to be at the field at 10:40, so technically she only had 40 minutes to get dressed and grab a quick breakfast. Ah well, sleep was important.

Underneath the glasses, she noticed a parcel with the words "for Aife" written in ink on the parchment in which it was wrapped. The words looked handsome, the penmanship of someone who was raised by nobility. Someone like Sirius! Her heart leapt at the thought, and she hurried to unwrap the package. Inside were a bunch of chocolates.

Maybe I'll just have these instead of breakfast, she thought, yawning.

Aife bit into one of the chocolates, finding it to be full off some sort of sweet goo. It complemented the white chocolate beautifully. This had to be the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for her. In an instant, she had finished over two thirds of the chocolates. Deciding not to give herself a stomach ache, Aife put her voracity on pause so as to take a shower and get dressed.

The shower had felt amazing, setting her skin tingling. Aife wished she had time to touch herself but the game was too soon for things like that. Still, she felt a bit frustrated when she got out.

Aife finished off the chocolates and headed down to breakfast. All the other 6th year Slytherins offered them encouragement, except Narcissa and Moko– they seemed unwilling to associate with people lower than themselves on the social latter. Aife managed a nervous thanks. Midway through pumpkin juice and a piece of toast, Aife began to suspect something was terribly wrong.

All her nerve endings seemed to have become incredibly sensitive. She could feel her thong pressing into her, creating friction. It was soon soaked.

Fuck, Aife thought. I can't play Quidditch like this. It must have been those bloody chocolates. Merlin, I am an idiot.

She hurried to the changing rooms. Who could've done this? Narcissa? This wasn't usually her style. It sounded like something a boy would think up. Aife couldn't think of any boys who disliked her.

Aife took a quick cold shower, but it barely helped. There's no way Slytherin team could replace a chaser before the game started. She would have to play.

Aife donned her windproof flying robes and arm and shin guards, as well as a helmet. There, now she looked ridiculously unsexy. It only helped a very tiny bit.

Ewell sized up his team, taking in all the members. He wondered how they'd come to have so many girls. Most teams only had one, rarely two. Then he remembered letting his girlfriend on instead of McCormick, despite him doing better in Keeper tryouts.

Ewell gathered them up, deciding on a few plays he wanted to try. "Don't try and get the snitch right away. If it appears Potter has noticed it, feel free to go get it, but we wanna be as high up in the running as we'd like, right?"

Aife's head was buzzing. Everything was buzzing. She felt as though she were in a desert, thirsting for pleasure which was barely within her control. Just remember to put the quaffle through the hoops, Aife thought weakly. That's all that matters.

"Now Black is a strong Keeper, you three," Aide felt herself perk up at the name. "And his left side is usually his weakness. Keep it in mind. Yes, his left, not your left, Greengrass." Victor Greengrass was Wilkins replacement, until he his arm got better. Which would probably be in the next couple days. The timing couldn't have been worse. Greengrass was alright, but hadn't trained with them like Wilkins had.

Aife stifled a moan and wished for the comfort of the empty changing room shower. Or her dormitory. Or just about anywhere private would suffice.

Unfortunately, it was time to go to the pitch. She mounted her broom, and found that the issue became a lot worse with the broomstick between her thighs. Aife's breathing was ragged.

Miyo caught up with her and gave her a questioning look.

"Just tired," Aife said breathily.

Miyo seemed to accept this reason and patted her on the shoulder.

What seemed like moments later, they were up in the air, and Aife was trying hard to focus on the quaffle, but it seemed nearly impossible. A bludger nearly missed her head, and Aife was grateful for the distraction. Adrenaline shook her from lust and put all her effort into scoring a goal. She glared at Sirius while she did it. He gave her a confused look.

Ok, so it wasn't Sirius. At least, she thought.

Aife sent a silent prayer to Miyo to catch the snitch before Potter did. Speaking of, James was hovering somewhat nearby. He gave her a shit-eating grin.

"You bastard!" she shouted, but her words were whipped away by the wind. Which was just as well, considering a moan slipped out at the end of the statement. It seemed even anger couldn't keep her arousal at bay.

Aife and Regulus managed to score one more goal each before Miyo caught the snitch. At the very least, James wouldn't have much to gloat about.

Then again, Gryffindor had scored 11 goals, and Slytherin only 6. Still, they had won, and the Slytherin stands were cheering.

Aife quickly took a cold shower and changed. She'd deal with her problem as soon as she got to her dorm, but right now, Aife was thinking of an array of hexes to use on Potter. At least half of which were Dark Arts.

She found him outside the Gryffindor changing rooms.

"You absolute, bloody fucking wanker. You're a piece of shite, you–"

But she was cut off as Sirius pulled her into a nearby broom closet and gave her a cross look. Aife could barely register what was happening- but knew she did not care. She was dazed and everything was clouded with lust.

"You looked as though you were about to hex him, what the bloody hell was that?" he asked her.

"That fucker! He gave me a lust potion."

"Oh," Sirius took in her flushed face and parted lips. He swallowed heavily, "Oh."

"Sirius... please," she made eye contact, hoping he knew what she was asking. Potter was going to pay. But not before she did. With her virginity. To Sirius Black. Fuck.

He attempted to meet her gaze, trying to let his expression remain calm but not entirely managing it. "Are you sure you want this?"

Aife could barely speak except for a whimper. There was nothing romantic about this, a broom closet, but it was better than doing it herself. Then Aife remembered what she had decided. Friends. Friend only, with Black. Nothing more.

Sirius had gotten ready to kiss her, but Aife bolted with nothing but a soft apology in her wake. She had never felt so embarrassed and degraded. She sprinted to the dungeons, where she found a celebration party heavily laden with firewhiskey. She snuck a half-full bottle on her way up to the dorm, thinking that it would come in handy later. Aife would prefer not to remember the embarrassing events of tonight. Or being turned on by riding a broomstick. She was going to look up the Cruciatus Curse and use it on James. Well, not really, but perhaps slip him some potion to make his Johnson fall off, at the least.

Aife drew the curtains around her four-poster and cast silencing charms and a few which would make the curtains very hard to open. She hid the firewhiskey in her drawer and dug up an old sock. She transfigured it into something more appropriate for the occasion.

She flushed, never having used something like that before. But her lust got the better of her, and she slid it inside, uttering a sigh.

Miyo had mentioned a charm which would make the thing do the work for her, but without the incantation and wand movement, Aife had to suffice with the old fashioned way.

She reached under her jumper, caressing her breast and tweaking a nipple, pumping the device in and out. Aife groaned, realizing she wasn't quite satisfied and performed a mild engorgement charm on the ex-sock.

She slid it back in, gasping and moaning in pleasure. Why hasn't she done this sooner? Perhaps she should send Potter flowers instead. No, not after how it had hurt her quidditch performance.

Aife pumped it in faster and faster, using her fingers as well and finally came. Her body was seized by the orgasm and she felt a great rush of pleasure.

Yes, Aife thought. I should really do this more often

Meanwhile, in the afore-mentioned broom closet

Sirius felt himself go stiff at Aife's begging, and immediately regretted asking her if she was sure when she ran out of the broom closet. Fuck, he thought.

Well, there was no help for it now. Sirius closed the door and put a couple charms on it before helping himself off to thoughts of Aife.

After he finished he sank into a sitting position. Did the girl really just want to be friends? Why was she being such a sodding tease? He felt anger, but it faded when he remembered the reason the last 30 minutes had happened. Sirius scourgified himself and walked as quickly as he could to Gryffindor tower.

"James!" Sirius roared as he stormed into the common room. Heads turned, but Sirius didn't care. "What the bloody sodding fuck was that?"

"I've never seen him get this worked up about quidditch before," Peter quietly remarked to Remus.

"I don't think this is about quidditch, mate," Remus had kept his tone low, but Sirius overheard.

"You're goddamn right it's not!" he said, pointing his wand up towards the dormitories. "Upstairs, now!"

James looked a bit bothered, but managed to still look cool. The four Marauders got upstairs and James immediately launched into an explanation.

"Look, mate, I didn't think it'd be that bad–"

"So you admit it? You, you bloody idiot gave her a lust potion, before a quidditch game. Knowing she was going to play? This is low. Even for you, James."

James flinched and recovered himself, "You're calling me low? You, the one who left me to Remus for a night to go chasing after that Slytherin bitch? You, who nearly got Snivellus killed and Moony exposed? You, who break every girl's heart you touch?"

Sirius glared at him with contempt. "If I'm so ruddy horrible, then why the hell," he raised him voice at the last word, "are you best mates with me?"

"I don't fucking know," James said with a glare, and left the dorm. Peter paused for a few moments, then decided it was best to follow James. Perhaps he hoped that he could be James's new best mate.

Remus let out a deep sigh and sat on his bed. "You really like this girl, don't you?" he said.

"I, I–" Sirius sighed and sat as well. "I don't know, Remus. She's different. She just– just wants to be friends. I've never had it happen before. Today, after the match, she was a mess." Sirius's expression had twisted into something between disgust and longing. "She– Aife –looked as though she was about to hex James, started screaming at him. So I pulled her into this broom cupboard and she begged me to– to take her. I asked if she was sure, and she ran out of there, tears pouring down her face." His voice broke. Sirius couldn't believe what he was feeing for the girl whom he'd known for only 4 days, if that. But there was something about her that had caught and held his interest. He found he couldn't let go. If it was friends she wanted, it was friend she would get, however painful it was for him.

Remus gave him a comforting look. "I'm sorry mate, I really am. James acted like a prat. Truth be told, he's pretty prejudiced about all the Slytherins. I think it really bothered him that you chose to hang out with her that night instead of us."

Sirius began to apologize, but Remus cut him off. "Hey, I already told you, don't worry about it. I'm glad you found a girl you like."

Sirius gave a bitter smile, voicing his worries, "But what if she's not special at all. What if we fuck and then I don't feel anything again, just like all those other times?" Sirius ached, thinking about it. He longed to feel whole, and he often did during those brief stolen moments with girls. But then the game was up. He had won and the prize got boring after a week or so. And the game began again. Anything to quench the hollowness. He laughed darkly. If James could hear his thoughts, would he ridicule him? James'd probably say he had mommy issues. Which, with a mother like Sirius's, he probably did.

Remus looked through his drawers and dug out a Dreamless Sleep potion. He tossed it to Sirius, who gave him a nod and a grateful look. Sirius stripped and downed the thing at once, climbing into his bed and drifting off to sleep at once.

Aife awoke late in the morning, feel content. The night before had been tumultuous, to say the least, but the newly discovered pleasure of masturbation had given her an afterglow. She wasn't quite as mad as yesterday, but still fairly ticked at James. Mostly because the whole thing had interfered with the quidditch game. Not to mention that embarrassing scene with Sirius. But yes, mostly the quidditch game.

Aife checked her planner and realized she had a "study" day planned with Miyo. Well, at least she'd get a chance to ask her about that spell. And figure out what hex to use on Potter.

She saw Potter at breakfast and gave him a murderous glare. Sirius didn't look too happy with him either.

"Did you hear?" Aife heard a third year gossiping to her friend. "Black and Potter got into a fight over a girl. Apparently she's a Slytherin, too."

Aife's eyes widened at the news. Was it even true? They'd fought about her? Breakfast disappeared a few moments later and Sirius got up to leave, not even glancing at Potter. Aife snuck out of the hall, trying to blend with a group of Ravenclaw 5th years. As soon as Sirius was mostly alone however, Aife tapped his shoulder.

"What the bloody hell do you wa–" He looked up in her face. "Oh. It's you."

"Yeah," She said blandly, not willing to meet his eyes. "It's me."

"Look, I wanted to apologize about what James did," Aife began to protest but he continued, "No, really, I know it may not be my place, but it wasn't right. In fact, I didn't think James would ever do something like that."

Aife's expression softened a bit. Who'd have thought, Sirius Black was being sweet. "Thanks for saying that. I hope you know that I'm still going to hex his dick off though."

Sirius shivered at the thought, but quickly recovered himself. "I suppose that'll stop him being such a wanker." He grinned at the word play.

Aife cracked a smile as well.

"When can I see you next?" he asked.

"Well, I'm busy most of today," Aife was planning on bringing her art supplies to the hidden turret of Gryffindor tower and painting the view. October at Hogwarts was truly beautiful. Even the Forbidden Forest didn't look so spooky with multi-colored leaves.

"How about Monday, after classes? I'll meet you in the library? Hell, I'll even help you plot against James."

"Truth be told, I was probably gonna do something today, but I've no doubt he'll retaliate. So feel free to help me come up with part two of the plan, then."

"Sounds good."

They walked in comfortable solve for a little while, laughing at the painting of randy wizards dressed in women's burlesque garb who catcalled Sirius.

"Well, this is my stop." Aife said, when they reached the 4th classroom to the left of Gryffindor tower.

Sirius looked confused. "What're you doing there?"

"Oh, just studying. You know, the regular stuff."

"Ah, I see. Meeting a boy, then?

"No, I wish," Aife said jokingly. She relished the way Sirius's eyebrows shot up. "Just taking some alone time." It was technically true, painting was her alone time. Solid, if she showed Sirius that turret, he'd probably take some tramp there.

"Well, I'll see you later." Aside gave him a quick hug, and Sirius felt a bit punch-drunk. She didn't look back as she hurried into the classroom with blazing cheeks. There was the stone zest demon in the corner. It had sky eyes and said, "Hello friend. Do you have some delicious spirit for me today?"

Aife grinned and took out a small silver knife. She cut a small strand of hair from the base of her neck.

"What's your name?" She asked, on impulse.

"You may call me Rangiku. And you, my child?"

"Aife Sullivan." She gave a wry grin at how Irish her name was. Perhaps she should look into the Irish pureblood clans. Then again, it easily could've been a muggle last name from her father.

Rangiku stuck out her tongue for the lock of hair and Aife placed it on. The sight was slightly poetic. Rangiku lapped it up and stepped aside from her backing (a stone wall with images of geishas and kanji writing) to show a 4 foot tall oval opening. Aife was lucky to be thin, or else she'd have had a harder time slipping through. Rangiku padded back to her perch and Aife whispered "Lumos" for lighting. The corridor was mossy stone, and it gave Aife a pleasant feeling to know that she was the only one who knew of the hidden turret.

Aife had brought up some furniture (shrunk and then unshrunk) in September. She had discovered the passage late last year through an odd combination of events. Miyo had cursed in Japanese while they were studying and the creature had awakened, peeking up its head and blinking lazily. Miyo had been facing away from the corner as hadn't seen.

Aife was only just beginning to trust Miyo at that time, as Miyo had (like her sister) been a minion of Narcissa. But that's a story for another day. So Aife waited until Miyo had left and spoke to the cat demon. Who apparently, once awakened (Aife used the only Japanese she knew to say hi– Konichiwa) spoke perfect English. She had felt very stupid for a few seconds before it unfroze and demanded to be fed a lock of hair, which Aife did, on a whim.

Nowadays, Aife occasionally slept in there. She had found a charm to spell the windows to make it look as though this turret was empty. It was extremely useful. She had also put repelling charms surrounding it. It was, at its core a muggle repelling charm, but slightly tweaked and much more difficult. Aife felt proud that she could produce an extremely powerful one. Charms and Transfiguration were here two best subjects, closely followed by Astrology.

Divination briefly covered Astrology, and most Astrology students had to have Astronomy, as a prerequisite. Aife had felt so proud of getting an Acceptable in the astronomy OWL, considering how bad she was at Arithmancy (which was half of Astronomy). It had all made her head spin, but she was glad to be an Astrology student. They were going to do their Religions and Astrology unit soon, which Aife found frankly fascinating.

She sighed as she finally reached the top. There were three rooms, one underneath (a spacious cavern which could be used for spell practice and potion making). The light in the cavern came from Amanita Muscaria Candenti, which emitted a pleasant red glow. Aife had, however, cast little spheres of light to float around her while she practiced her potions work.

Even after 6 years of Hogwarts, she still found magic amazing. Even before that, she had discovered that she could perform small bits of magic. Aife was never really sure what to make of it. She was conscious of it, but could rarely do magic on purpose. The one exception was telekinesis. Aife was particularly good at making things come to her, and had got it fairly down pat by fourth grade. Only things nearby though.

The top of the tower had a very high ceiling, and Aife had charmed clouds to hang in the peak of the turret. At night, a small, bright moon would appear to cast light. It had been a difficult bit of charms work. Aife would probably have to renew the charm in a month or so, but it was staying longer than she had expected so far.

She found her painting perfectly dry. With a nervous excitement, she chanted the incantation: Dorias Amum Vitae. She saw herself spring to life. The painted her blinked.

"You're me, aren't you? How odd."

Did she really sound like that? Aife thought.

"I know what you've been thinking about lately," she said deviously. It seems this painting decided have a bit more Slytherin spirit than the real Aife.

"What've I been thinking about?" Aife was slightly amused.

"Sirius Black. You guys would be so cute together."

Aife groaned. "I think something in the spell went wrong. I'm not nearly this irritating."

"Perhaps your subconscious is?" The Other Aife suggested helpfully.

"I guess so. The sorting hats did put me in Slytherin, after all."

The Other Aife smirked. It made her look like a little elf with her pale Scottish freckles and long sloped nose. The Other Aife almost looked delicate when she kept a straight face though. Aife figured she must have painted herself in a flattering light.

She idled away an hour or two before going down to Myrtle's bathroom.

Neptune had apparently escaped from her dorm, because she greeted Aife, meowing loudly.

"What's wrong, baby?"

Neptune meowed louder, in a whinier key.

"What?"

The cat gave a single long meow and quickly trotted away. Aife followed, since it was the direction she had to go in for the toilets anyway.

After a long walk, Neptune had led her to a crowd of students. Aife picked up her cat, who was light enough to jump on her shoulder and cuddle into her chest. In fifth year, Aife had been disappointed when she hadn't grown nearly enough breast while all the other girls in her year had. She had found a potion, a difficult brew, to enlarge breasts and grow breast tissue. Aife had made sure it was an irreversible one, not wanting to be disappointed when they shrunk back to normal. Imagine the surprise when they grew into double Ds over night. They had occasionally been a burden, but Neptune loved to nestle around her neck so she kept them. She had shrunk them every morning, making the spell weaker and weaker, so no one would question why she suddenly had breasts overnight.

Currently, her breasts were a mixed blessing. It was difficult to get through a

the crowd.

Aife jostled herself into the 4th row and saw some writing on the wall. It appeared to be blasted out of the stone. She couldn't make it out from back here, but she got the impression something bad has happened. She turned to a student near her.

"What happened?"

The girl, a 4th year Hufflepuff, just pointed at the wall.

Aife squinted.

"The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened."

endnote/ Yes, I know. *Gasp*. I know the time frame isn't right, but I'm doing it anyway. In the meantime, can you guess who opened the Chamber of Secrets? Don't hold your breath for a response though, I'm not about to give away my ending. The opening of the Chamber 50 years ago still happened. And this is... about 18 years since then? Yeah that sounds about right.

chapter word count: 6,350

Also, here's a copy of Aife's schedule. I thought it would be helpful.

Aife's Classes and Schedule:

Astrology

Runes

Divination (semester one)

Muggle Studies (semester two)

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Transfiguration

Charms

Herbology

The classes are 50 minutes each, with a 10 minute break in between. Lunch is an hour including breaks.

Breakfast at 8am. Classes begin at 8:30am and end at 3:30pm

Schedule:

Monday: Astrology, Transfiguration, [FREE], /Lunch/, Divination, [FREE], Charms

Tuesday: Herbology, Transfiguration, [FREE], /Lunch/, [FREE], Runes, Charms

Wednesday: Astrology, DADA, DADA, /Lunch/, Divination, Runes, [FREE]

Thursday: Astrology, Transfiguration, DADA, /Lunch/, [FREE], [FREE], Charms

Friday: Herbology, Herbology, [FREE], /Lunch/, Divination, Runes, [FREE]

If I get 5 reviews on this, I'll draw Aife and make a deviantart, post it on there, and tell you my profile. There's a good chance I'll do it anyway, but really, reviews make my night ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here it is! Sorry this took so long, I did quite a bit of research and organization, finally forming a loose plot on which to go around. Now the Harry Potter wiki is on my homepage. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this, and it keeps you guessing as to who the Heir of Slytherin is. Never thought I'd be able to write a murder mystery, but here goes.

Also, there might be tiny inconsistencies in the first chapter. This is because I did not have the plot worked out back then. One of the inconsistencies is the schedule, but it's nothing relevant. And it's fixed now. So yeah, PSA. By the way, this story started on Wednesday, October 5th. By the end of this chapter, it will have been nearly a week.

Sunday

Aife had no clue what the Chamber of Secrets was, being raised in a muggle orphanage. There were still a couple hours to kill before dinner, so she went up to the library. Many other students were there, for the same exact reason she was. They wanted information on the Chamber.

"No, I can not help you," Madam Pince said, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Out! If the only reason you're here is for information on the chamber, you may get out! Dumbledore will be making an explanatory announcement during dinner.

During the rush to get out of the library, which was very far from the Great Hall, Aife managed to cast a Disillusionment Charm and slip into the restricted section. Aife wandered into the "C" section and, after a half hour of searching, found a book entitled, "Forbidden Magics of the Chamber of Secrets" in the "F" section.

She flipped to the introduction which read, "The Chamber was rumored to be built in 1253 by Salazar Slytherin himself. He, along with his devoted group of followers, constructed the chamber and then magicked it inside the castle. The whisperings of the underbelly of pureblood society say that the chamber contains a monster, most likely a dangerous magical creature. However, another rumor speaks of a curse on the chamber to make it a kind of Pandora's Box, for the heir of Slytherin to command, of Dark Magicks of which we know not. The Chamber has never been found by any of Hogwarts' headmasters or headmistresses, nor has there ever been an Heir of Slytherin brought before any wizarding trial. The heir of Slytherin is supposed to be a blood relation to Salazar himself. According to Pureblood Families of Greater England (1922), the last known lineage of Slytherin were the Gaunts, whose lineage died with Morphin Gaunt in 1968."

So how could the Chamber be opened? Aife thought. There weren't any Slytherin relations left. Supposedly.

Lucius Malfoy, a 7th year, had liked to claim he was related to Slytherin but never managed to prove it. The Blacks were also rumored to have Slytherin blood, but again, never confirmed. Most likely they did, but too far back to be on a family tree.

Well, obviously it wasn't Sirius, and somehow she doubted it was Regulus, him being only in Third Year. Lucius, maybe? It was worth looking into, although Aife wasn't going to go on a wild goose chase on an ominous feeling. What did the Heir of Slytherin even do? Dinner had already started, and, feeling rushed, Aife got rid of the hex on the book (all restricted section books had an alarm which needed to be disabled) and stuffed it in her bag.

She would need to practice her Disillusionment Charm. It only lasted nicely for 20 minutes. Then it became easy to make out her edges. She recast the charm.

Making a mental note, she slipped out of the restricted section just as Madam Pince turned around. Aife stood a stock still. It would not due to be caught sneaking around the restricted section in this moment. Especially since she was hungry.

Pince squinted, but evidently found nothing, as she stalked away moments later.

Aife escaped the library and uttered a sigh of relief. She cast the counter-charm to the Disillusionment Charm and went down to dinner.

"Lord Voldemort seems very... fanciable," Narcissa gossiped to Moko. To Aife's horror, Vasiliya nodded demurely.

"He's got the dark and mysterious sort of look, doesn't he?" she said, adjusting her hair bow. "And he's powerful."

"And psychotic," Aife muttered.

"How do you reckon?" Azriela asked while Narcissa glared and scrunched up her nose. The effect was like a Veela transformation, making her face look twisted and sour.

"He kills half the people who join up with his little gang," Aife said simply.

"He's just... selective," Narcissa said, sneering more, "Besides how would you even know about it?"

"It's all over the papers. And how would you?"

Narcissa flipped her pale hair over her shoulder. "Well, let's just say I have," she added a pause for dramatic effect, "connections."

Moko was staring at her in admiration.

"Well, personally I would be pleased if you joined up. I do like the statistics."

"Now listen here, Sullivan. Not all of us are mudblood sympathi—" But Narcissa was cut off by Dumbledore tapping his spoon against his goblet.

He swept his arm through the air, the midnight blue fabric glistening. He's so flamboyant, Aife thought., smiling to herself. He was a good man, though. Great wizard, too. Since he'd defeated Grindelwald, there hasn't been a dark wizard in power for a whole fifty years. And now they had to deal with Voldemort. "Lord" he called himself. What a wanker.

Silence fell heavily, and the candles seemed to flicker.

"I know, many of you have been wondering about the Chamber of Secrets. I would like to say this is a prank, however, I'm afraid that would be optimistic. I do not believe there are any students in this school who would do such a thing for humor. However, that leaves us with the worse alternative, of a student doing this due to a severely misplaced sense of justice.

I implore whoever has opened the Chamber to please step up now. If the perpetrator admits themself now, they will not face expulsion. As opposed to later. If the so-called Heir of Slytherin is caught, which I assure you I will do everything in my power to carry out, they will have a stint in Azkaban waiting for them, as soon as they are of age. I do not want it to come to this.

Now, many of you may already know of the legend of The Chamber of Secrets. The Heir of Slytherin, someone related to Salazar Slytherin by blood, is meant to 'cleanse'," Dumbledore gave a disgusted look, "this school of anyone with 'tainted' blood. In short, muggleborns. They are said to do this with the aid of a monster, which resides inside the chamber. There are many different versions of this story, but this seems to be the most popular one.

Muggle born students, I ask you to please not walk the halls without a halfblood or pureblood friend. These are dark times, I'm afraid.

I remember the last time the Chamber had been opened, under Headmaster Dippet, while I still taught Transfiguration. I'm afraid, the Heir had never been caught then." The Headmaster raised his goblet. "I doubt the culprit will be as lucky this time."

He took a large sip and sat back down.

"What a load of tosh," Narcissa said. "It is admirable that a student would take that kind of job upon himself, in addition to studies." She thought for a moment, and added, "Or herself, I suppose. Although it seems more like a boy thing to do, you know?" she said to Moko.

Moko nodded and Miyo gave her a sharp look. "You don't actually support the killing of muggleborns?"

"Honestly, I don't care. They're trash." She glanced up quickly at Narcissa, seeking approval. Narcissa gave her a pleased glance.

"Well, the stench of mudblood-sympathizers is overwhelming here, better get going," Narcissa said primly, giving Aife a scathing look.

"Merlin, they're barking mad," Aife said to no one in particular. Miyo gave a nod of assent.

Monday

A boy named John Sedgewick turned up dead that morning. The announcement was made during breakfast.

Narcissa had laughed derisively at all the shocked expressions of the other students.

"Honestly, you'd think it was a bad thing."

"It is bad thing, you dense bitch. A wizard–" Narcissa snorted, "Yes, Narcissa, muggleborn or not, he was a wizard. And now he's dead. That's obviously not fucking good, that's magical blood wasted." Aife burst out angrily.

A hush fell over the Slytherin table, and some students from the other tables had looked over as well. Aife wasn't big on muggles, though she acknowledged some were alright, and had no issues with muggleborns. If anything, she sympathized with them. It would've been downright hypocritical not to, growing up as she had. Most muggles were downright annoying or just plain boring.

"Yes, it's all very tragic," Narcissa sniffed disinterestedly. Aife figured it was due to the watchful eye of Dumbledore. Aife caught Dumbledore's eye, familiar enough with the man to give him a smile, which he genuinely returned.

James and Sirius were fuming. Separately, of course, their previous fights hadn't been forgotten.

"I can't believe this is happening. Merlin, it's only been a day," James said, talking to Peter, but looking up at Sirius.

Sirius ignored him, but continued a similar conversation with Remus. Remus didn't like picking sides, but he disliked James's prejudice against the Slytherin girl. Although it seemed to be even worse since the announcement about the Chamber of Secrets. Remus idly wondered whether people with non-human roots, such as himself, would be targeted. Some kids were open about Veela or Vampire heritage. He shivered, and figured it was all the more reason to tread carefully.

"I'm gonna catch the bastard that did it!" Sirius said, just as James said, "I'll be dammed if I let people get away with murder in my school!"

The quickly glanced at each other, but were interrupted by Lily.

"Your school? Potter, your goal is noble and all, but your head couldn't be any bigger if it had an engorgement charm on it," she said, her face full of disdain.

"But Lily, can't you see? I'm doing this for you, my Lily. I just want you safe," he said, a stupid grin on his face.

"Yes, you'd be quite bored if you had no one to inflict yourself upon," she said dryly.

"But Lily that's what I have Siri–" He stopped abruptly.

Sirius glowered at him. He had definitely cooled down since Saturday, but he still couldn't validate James's actions by forgiving him. James would have to come to him.

"Speaking of which, what happened between you two?" Lily glanced between them, gauging their anger.

"Well, if you must know," Sirius said sarcastically, "Dear James here slipped a certain Slytherin friend of mine a lust potion right before Saturday's match."

James was horrorstruck at this betrayal. Whatever happened, he hadn't expected Sirius to rat him out to Lily.

Lily looked pissed.

"You did what?" she screeched at James.

"No, Evans, wait, it gets better," Sirius interrupted smoothly. "The friend in question was actually on the Slytherin quidditch team. And she had no choice other than to play."

Lily was livid. "She?! You foul little–" She cut herself off and caught her breath. "Thirty points from Gryffindor. I won't tell McGonagall about this, but this– James Potter –is low, even for you."

A quiet grew over the table, but was interrupted by a shouting match from the Slytherin table. An impressive feat, given the proximity, or lack thereof, of the two tables.

"It is bad thing, you dense bitch." Sirius felt a flare of satisfaction, watching the arguement. Narcissa getting told off wasn't something you saw every day. He hated his bitch of a cousin, although she wasn't as bad as Bellatrix, her older sister. She had graduated four years ago. Before that though, Bella had been downright foul to him, partially for being put in Gryffindor, partially for not sharing the family prejudices.

"A wizard–" Narcissa snorted, "Yes, Narcissa, muggleborn or not, he was a wizard. And now he's dead. That's obviously not fucking good, that's magical blood wasted."

With a lurch, Sirius realized exactly who it was shouting. Up until now, most of the girl's head had been obscured. Although he had no clue how he'd missed all the sheet of silky blonde hair. Aife's voice carried through the hall. Perhaps his taste in women was better than he'd thought. Sirius had known after that night at the lake that Aife wasn't your average girl. But wow, to see her chewing out Narcissa felt amazing. He had the insane urge to cheer after her rant.

Lily got up from the table and left with her friend, heading to Astrology early.

Sirius had ignored the impulse to cheer, and instead rounded on James, generously waiting until Lily was out of earshot to do so.

"You see, you wanker, she's not even that bad, Slytherin or not."

"How dare you even speak to me?" James said heatedly. "After snitching me out to Lily? Fuck off, mate."

"Gladly," Sirius spat, and left the Great Hall.

Aife and Miyo had rescheduled their Dark Arts session to a free period they shared before lunch. The focus of this particular session was finding a nasty enough curse to use on James Potter.

They were nearing the end of the period when Aife's hex missed the dummy they were using for practice. Aife was deciding between a curse which would make Potter's balls crawl back into his body and another which would turn his penis into a rubber chicken. A real rubber cock, she thought, amused. Perhaps both spells would do, if she could swing it? He was sure to send one back in retaliation. Probably just some standard Gryffindor bullshit like Expelliarmus, though.

The missed curse bounced oddly off the sinks in the middle of the bathroom. It hit another wall, very near to the red headed girl who had just entered the loo.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She said. Aife recognized her from Astrology. Some clever Gryffindor girl in her year.

"Deciding which hex to use on James Potter, wanna join?"

"Gladly," Lily said with relish. This took Aife aback, she had been expecting the girl to defend the Gryffindor poster boy.

"I wasn't expecting that. How come you dislike him, besides the obvious bigheadedness and general dick-baggery?"

"Well, aside from that– which is very valid, I might add –he will not stop asking me out. Literally, I've tried everything. He's harder to get rid of than fleas."

Miyo watched the entire exchange with no small amount of amusement. It was funny how mutual hatred always brought people together much more efficiently than love. Hell, her and Aife were living proof. Their mutual dislike of Narcissa was what brought them together in the first place. Miyo didn't consider Aife to be her best friend, in technicality, although she probably was closest. Miyo's real best friend had graduated last year.

"Ah, I see. That sounds rather unfortunate. He did something rather unspeakable to me before the last Quidditch game."

Miyo giggled. She had grudgingly admitted that it was a bit genius to put a lust potion on a girl and then have her spend an hour on a broomstick in front of the whole school. But, Aife was her ally, so her afternoon was spent finding nasty phallic curses. Which was fun, too, especially since Miyo had no doubt Aife would go through with it.

Lily looked wide-eyed. "So you're the girl Potter gave the lust potion to," she said, realization dawning upon her.

"How'd you know about that?" Aife looked suspicious.

Lily shrugged, "James and Sirius were arguing about it this morning at breakfast."

"Oh, so they're still fighting about it?" Aife asked, suppressing the note of hopefulness seeping into her tone.

"Suppose so. Ah well, I think a break would be healthy for those two. Anyway, why don't you show me what you've got in store for James?"

"Ah," an evil grin unfurled itself onto Aife's face, making her look like an elf. "Well..." She launched into an explanation of the various curses.

"Hold on a minute, isn't that Dark Arts?" Lily said.

"Well, not exactly, but it's borderline." Lily had expected a sheepish look, but Aife just shrugged nonchalantly.

"You Slytherins." Lily rolled her eyes. "Under normal circumstances I'd disapprove, but it is fitting for James."

The curse in question made it painful for James to think about sex, or anything vaguely sexual, for a day. Lily and Aife had agreed it was very Kubrick, but Miyo just looked confused.

"A Clockwork Orange? C'mon Miyo, the director is a wizard."

"Sorry, my parents wouldn't have any muggle films in the house. And the wizarding ones were sorta boring, so I never got into it. You know, sometimes I wonder how you got into Slytherin, liking all this muggle stuff."

Aife shifted uncomfortably, as she always did when the subject of home was brought up. "The orphanage had a lot of muggle stuff, honestly." And it was honest.

"Oh, you were raised in an orphanage?" Lily asked politely. "Was it your entire life? I hear they usually place wizarding kids with pureblood families who can't have children themselves."

"I didn't start exhibiting signs of magic until my later years," Aife lied smoothly. It was one useful, albeit Slytherin, characteristic she possessed. If she hadn't, her secret would probably have been out by now.

"Ahh, they didn't were worried you were a squib?" Miyo said, and Aife nodded. Lily didn't look as convinced, but dropped it, as it was time for lunch.

That girl was almost too clever, Aife thought.

They entered the Great Hall together, much to Narcissa's disdain.

"Consorting with muggleborn trash? How predictable," she sneered.

"And you're commenting on blood purity. Et tu, Brute?" Aife barely spared her a glance. Narcissa seemed to have grown even more vicious after today's breakfast.

"Mother would be disgusted," Moko added, throwing a mean glance at Miyo.

"Well then it's good she's dead," Miyo said coldly. Moko gasped, and Aife felt like doing the same. The girl could be so heartless at times, even for a Slytherin.

Moko left the Great Hall in tears.

"Well, that was harsh."

"She needs to get over it. Also gain some self respect and stop sucking up to people." Miyo spared a glance at Narcissa, who was chatting with 7th year Lucius Malfoy. Probably a lovely chat about the importance of blood purity.

"Lily really isn't bad, once you get to know her," Miyo said.

Aife was pleasantly taken aback, she hadn't been sure Miyo had liked Lily. You really never knew with Miyo. Especially since she did prefer non-muggleborns, but it wasn't a big deal. Alice was muggleborn, but Miyo hadn't held it against her after they'd gotten to know each other. Aife wondered whether they'd ever made up. She internally groaned at the thought of Divination spent with them fighting. Then again, perhaps she could partner with Sirius again.

"What do you think?" Miyo asked.

"Hmm?"

"About Lily."

"Oh, right. Yeah I liked her too. Although I've only just met her. She's pretty charismatic," Aife added thoughtfully.

At that moment, James Potter rose to leave the Great Hall.

Aife's eyes followed him, catlike and full of malice. She stood and made her way up. Miyo rose as well. Surprising, Lily followed as well.

If James really does like Lily, this will crush him, Aife thought. She knew she had the ugly elf-like smirk on her face, but could do nothing to keep it off.

She had decided to use the rubber chicken spell.

"Hey Potter," Aife said, giving him a dirty look. He took in her raised wand and began to say "Expelliarmus", but Aife had the advantage and flicked it away before it came.

"Asphodilus Petrus!" Aife shouted, and, with a satisfying hiss, she head the spell land.

Potter looked terrified. It was almost a comical sight to behold.

He hurled a nasty jinx her way and hurried off the hospital wing. Unfortunately, Aife hadn't had enough time to stop it, and subsequently began tapdancing. Luckily, Lily knew the counter charm. Though Aife had to wait a minute while Liky had finished laughing about Potter.

Unfortunately, these moments brought McGobagall storming over.

"Ms. Sullivan!" Her voice cracked, "Do not think you can stand by and hex a fellow student without any sort of punishment." Aife groaned. Why was McGonagall so fucking strict? Did she have a bad time at Hogwarts, and now lived to torment the students?

"Detention. Tonight. Report to my office right after dinner. And you, Evans and Kamimoze. 10 points from Gryffindor, I expected better from a prefect. Five points from Slytherin. Next time you see a fight, I expect you to inform a teacher, not stand idly by," McGonagall glanced around, then transformed into a kitty to avoid the rush of students.

Miyo dropped her fake "meek and shy" attitude and returned to normal. "It makes you wonder though, why it took her so long to break up the fight. She got there like five minutes after it ended."

The reason, unbeknownst to the two girls, was that Professor McGonagall had rather enjoyed the whole exchange, preferring to let it unfold before stepping in. It was healthy for James Potter to get hexed every once in a while, especially by a girl.

Aife entered McGonagall's office at 8 and found an all too familiar face.

"Black. Fancy meeting you here," Aife gave him a sly grin.

"It's Sirius now, remember? So, I'm guessing you're here after hexing James?"

"Yep," Aife said proudly.

"What did you even do? He's been gone since lunch."

"Nice! I figured it would take Pomphrey a hot minute to set it straight. Anyway, yeah, I turned his uh... Johnson into a rubber chicken. Thank God for vengeful witches of the past."

Sirius have a shudder, "That does seem quite terrible. So, is this it? Do you consider it even know?"

"I suppose, but there's a good chance he'll retaliate."

"You're not wrong. I would talk to him, but we're not on great terms either."

"Oh yeah, Lily mentioned that. It's about the lust potion, yeah?"

But a cat slinked around McGonagall's desk corner and jumped into the chair. That woman was damn sneaky, Aife thought. How much of their conversation had she heard?

If McGonagall had heard anything, she didn't let on. She directed them to Filch, who gave them the ever faithful classic of polishing the Trophy Room. Without magic.

"So, you're friends with Lily now?" Sirius asked.

"On the way there, I suppose. I've only known her for a few hours, but she's been nice enough in that time."

"Mm, she's alright. James is absolutely mad about her. Completely mooney." He grinned to himself.

"I can see why, she's certainly very Gryffindor."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sirius said in mock outrage.

"You're all soft."

Sirius winked and said, "Not I."

Aife focused on vigorously polishing a shield to hide her blush. "How charming," she managed. It was a relief to hear she managed a playful edge to get tone.

"It's not really possible to be soft, growing up in the Black family," his tone turned contemptuous. "By the way, Narcissa at breakfast. Nicely handled."

"Oh, you flatter me, Bla– Sirius," Aife gave him a hesitant smile. He returned it, and it set her nerves on fire.

"So, the Heir of Slytherin. Who do you reckon it is?"

"Honestly, I have no clue. I can point out the future Deatheaters of Slytherin, but then again, I'm sure you can too," Aife replied.

"Wanna go through a list? It's not like we're short on time." He gave a wry grin.

"Well, out of the Slytherin 6th years there's Snape and Mulciber. They're both contenders, although I doubt they have Slytherin blood."

"Mulciber is possible, he's like a fourth cousin of mine. I mean, it would be ridiculously far back, but it would suffice."

"Well, I'll let you know if I see him acting more suspicious than usual." Sirius gave a small chuckle.

"I would love it if it were Snape, but he's a halfblood, according to Lily. And neither one of his parents were related to Slytherin, as far as I can tell."

"Yeah, somehow I doubt Snape would be the high and mighty Heir of Slytherin. The boy can't even manage a shower."

"Too true, Aife." Why did Sirius have to affect her so strongly? He was, after all, just a boy. A heartbreaker, though, Aife reminded herself. "Anyway," Sirius continued, "How about 7th years?"

"Rabastan Lestrange, Jasper Avery, and Lucius Malfoy. All creepy guys, it definitely could be one of them," Aife said thoughtfully.

"It could definitely be Lucius, he's a right bastard." So Aife wasn't crazy in her feeling about Malfoy.

"What about other houses? I doubt anyone from Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would be it, but there are plenty of purebloods and mostly-purebloods in Ravenclaw," Aife said.

"Pretentious gits," Sirius added. "Honestly, I really don't know. That Rosier boy's older brother is a Death Eater, but he shows no sign of joining up himself. It's hard to say. I'm determined to catch the fucker though. Rowle, that Ravenclaw 5th year, seems a bit into the Dark Arts, but also doesn't seem to be joining up."

"Just because someone practices the Dark Arts doesn't mean they want to become a Death Eater, as they call themselves."

"Completely ridiculous name," Sirius said, "But yeah, I agree. It doesn't bode well for a person though."

Aife bit her lip and vigorously scrubbed her trophy.

"Mm," she said noncommittally.

Aife hard a hard time sleeping that night. She stayed up and read the book on the Chamber of Secrets. The book was very vague, and most of the theories in it were nothing more than far fetched rumors. In fact, the only reason why the book might have been in the restricted section, was that there were suggestions on how to open the chamber, each more ridiculous than the next. Also included were theories on how to become the Heir of Slytherin. One of the ones listed was "If one is not related to Slytherin by blood, a flask of Slytherin blood may be hung around one's neck. If this doesn't work, a bonding or exchange spell might have to be put on yourself and the flask of blood."

Somehow, Aife highly doubted that would make a big difference. If anything, the Heir would look bloody obvious. Pun intended.

On the other side of the Narcissa let out a great sigh. Narcissa was such a light sleeper that Aife could hardly differentiate between Narcissa resting and Narcissa sleeping. Well, sleeping Narcissa preened less, but Aife swore she could see the girl smoothing her hair into perfection while asleep.

Aife shut off the light, and pretended to fall asleep. Narcissa often snuck out of the dormitory when she thought all the girls were too unconscious to hear her.

And Aife's intuition didn't fail. Narcissa slipped from her bed, like an inverted shadow on the wall, and slid through the door to the dormitory.

Grinning with glee, Aife cast her trusty Disillusionment Charm and slipped away after the girl. She crept down the musty dungeon hall, careful to make soundless steps, and saw Narcissa fall into Lucius Malfoy's embrace. How odd, Aife thought. You'd think they'd have made it public, both of their families would be thrilled. After all, they were at least 4-5 times removed, which was distinctly uncommon with pureblood families.

This was actually the reason Miyo's father, the youngest brother of the Kamimoze clan, moved them to England. Aife remembered giggling with Miyo over his reply to Miyo's questions of why they moved. "Good breeding opportunities," he'd said.

"Oh, Lucius, darling," Narcissa murmured, just loud enough for Aife to make out, and she drifted her head lower into his neck.

"We can't do this here, Narcissa," Lucius said breathily. "Anyone could come down to the common room, at any time.

Narcissa let out another large sigh, and slid her head back in to kiss him.

"I said 'no'. Besides, I need to tell you something important. New information has come to light. Plus, the enchantments. Let's go to the hidden room."

Narcissa looked displeased (queue sneering), but acquiesced.

None of this made a lick of sense to Aife, but she listened intently none the less.

They exited the dungeon door, allowing it to drift slowly shut behind them. This was advantageous to Aife, and she slipped through behind them, holding her breath so as to not tickle their necks.

Lucius whispered into Narcissa ear, "Severus will join us in an hour. He said he is perfectly okay with us starting without him."

Ew, Aife thought. That's fucking disgusting. I really hope he meant something else.

Doubts about following Lucius and Nsrcissa were sinking into Aife. She didn't want to be mistaken for a pervert, if found out. But these were suspicious circumstances. Aife decided to follow Narcissa and Lucius wherever they were headed, and then if it turned out to be a snogfest, Aife could ditch.

Just as she had her mind made up, the steps Aife was walking up suddenly shifted. Luckily, Narcissa and Lucius had barely made it themselves, so they were too adrenalized to notice Aife's squeak of surprise.

The steps now lead a floor higher than Aife needed. This was bunk, she thought. It's time for bed. I can't believe I missed a good night's rest for this bullshit.

And, to make matters even worse, Aife now found herself three feet away from Filch. She stayed stock still, not daring to blink, when Flich said, "Well then, it'll be a bloody detention won't it? And a nasty one at that, yes, out of bed at 3am? Complete lack of discipline, I'll be speaking to Slughorn tomorrow!"

Apparently, Filch had finally learned that waking up the Heads of House in the middle of the night for students out of bed was not appreciated.

Aife's heart sank. It was already 3am, meaning her Disillusionment Charm had worn off, if only partially, 10 minutes ago.

Filch prattled on about Aife's punishment, dropping her in front of the dungeons. He gave her a nasty grin, "Have fun cleaning Venomous Tentacula excrement, Ms. Sullivan!"

Aife had the urge to inform him that Venemous Tentacula was one of the 11 carnivorous plants which did not excrete their prey, but ignored his taunt and entered the dungeon.

"Stupid fucking squib," she murmured on her way in.

Flich's eyes popped, but try as he might, he could not get the dungeon door back open.

Tuesday, Lunch Time

"Yeah, Slughorn was going to let me off, but then he remembered he let me off the last couple times, so no luck there," Narcissa said, sniffing in annoyance.

Well, that's something, Aife thought. At least she wasn't the only one who got caught. Then again, because of the similar crimes and time frames, there was a good chance they would have detention together.

Slughorn had decided to make the detention on Thursday, because he needed to gather Alihotsy by moonlight, for his 5th years' task of making the Alihotsy Draught on Friday.

Aife was pleased with this, gathering plants didn't seem so bad. Especially since, as far as she knew, Alihotsy was not particularly dangerous, though did induce hysteria when consumed.

Miyo and Aife headed off to Herbology. Aife realized, with a jolt, that she had the class with Sirius. Aife doubted he'd sit with her again, though. She had gotten a lot of weird looks from girls that day in Divination. Although, she could have just been pretty high and imagining it.

Ew, and Narcissa was in that class.

Professor Beery gave Aife a wide grin. She actually paid attention and enjoyed this class, so Beery held her in high regard, despite that she was a Slytherin. Most of the Slytherins were pretty nasty to Hufflepuffs. Aife agreed they were mainly tossers, but wasn't rude, and didn't mind the occasional Hufflepuff. She could, at least, see why Alice liked Frank. He was very laid back, and decently good looking.

Miyo turned to Aife. "I'm going to work with Greengrass, ok? Azriela's with him too, and I don't have a date to the Halloween ball, yet. I'm not letting her steal him, he's the second best looking Slytherin guy in 6th year and 7th year combined, and Mulciber would never go for me."

"Oh, ok. I'll just work with Alice and Vasiliya," Aife replied. But when she turned around, she found that they'd already paired off with a Hufflepuff girl, relying on Aife to be predictable and work with Miyo. Sighing, Aife went to an empty station.

Only to be joined by Sirius Black.

"Is it ok if I work here?" He asked it as though he already knew the answer was yes. Which, of course, it was. He was just too damn charming for Aife to say no. And, friends hung out with friend, right?

"Yeah, it's cool. Still fighting with Potter, then?"

"Yeah, Remus said he was furious about the rubber chicken. I think Remus thought it was rather funny."

"Mm, I thought so, too," Aife said, cracking a grin.

"Yeah, you can be quite the little delinquent," Sirius said, semi-sarcastic. He ruffled her hair, and Aife blushed.

"Your hair is so soft," Sirius said, taken aback.

Aife felt embarrassed and annoyed. He's treating me like a little sister and then flirting with me? Can this boy be any weirder?

Sirius immediately felt embarrassed at saying that, so he tried to play it off with a wide grin.

Aife blushed, and he took it as an okay to continue flirting. "Do you use a potion on it or something?"

"Nope, all natural," Aife said, self-conscious. With the exclusion of the slightly overlarge breasts, she had never done anything to herself. Although she often had the urge to spell her dishwater blonde hair into a better shade.

"Oh, you don't see that often. So do you have a date to the ball?" Sirius asked impulsively.

"Uhm... no one's asked me..." Aife said, blushing furiously at having to admit this to Sirius Black, someone who had a line of girls waiting to ask. "Have you got a date?" Even now, the girl next to them was glaring at Aife.

"Oh, that's really surprising," Sirius said. She had said she only wanted to be friends, but could she really mean it? Probably not.

"Would you like to come with me?" He said, grinning invitingly.

Aife was shocked, and worked hard to remind herself the circumstances under which they'd met. Maybe she couldn't do much better, but Aife didn't want to lose her virginity to Sirius Black. Well, she did, but she hated the concept of being one of many. Besides, Sirius would most likely ditch her right after, just like all the other girls.

"No, sorry. I already told you, I'm only interested in you as a friend."

Sirius looked like he'd just been trodden on. "You know, Aife, you're going to ruin my ego."

"Good."

"You're breaking my heart," Sirius said, keeping his tone sarcastic, but finding that he meant it a tiny bit. Why wasn't she interested? What made her not interested, as opposed to everyone else? He remembered Remus telling him that it was good for him. Maybe so, but it didn't feel good right now. Was this how James felt with Lily?

"Am I now? That's a pity. Anyway, why don't you ask Alana Muldoon or Pomona Sprout? They're both drooling over you right now. I don't think they like me very much," Aife said, feeling amused yet trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She needed to find someone her league for the dance.

She looked up and caught Narcissa's eye. Narcissa sneered at her and glanced at Sirius, giving her a devilish grin. Ah fuck, right, she knows about that, Aife thought. She should have just denied everything. That girl was a demon. On the bright side, Aife had something on her, however vague. Why wouldn't she be going public about her and Malfoy? Aife knew for a fact that Malfoy was taking an unusually pretty 7th year Slytherin, McKenzie Fowl. She was the last in the line of an old pureblood family, although her family didn't affiliate itself with Voldemort, or the Dark Arts, as far as Aife knew.

"Yes, well, Muldoon is a bit creepy and Sprout is just a bit..."

"Hufflepuff," Aife finished.

"Well, I was going to say odd, but you're not wrong," Sirius grinned. "You know Muldoon followed me to and from classes for a few months last year. Kept trying to talk to me, it was weird."

"Well, Sirius, in case you haven't noticed, you're terribly handsome," Aife said, doing her best not to blush. If she had to classify it, she supposed it was flirting, but really any girl could see what was plainly in front of her. He had an obvious and unavoidable aristocratic handsomeness, which made Aife's whole situation that much more difficult. High cheekbones, fine, wavy dark hair, a well toned quidditch body. The whole package. Anywhere Aife looked, she was in trouble. Although she felt slightly more immune than the first time they met. Perhaps she could get used to it and the crush would finally fade away.

"So you think I'm terribly handsome," Sirius looked very pleased.

Aife gave him an odd look, "Of course I do, I have eyes."

This just confused Sirius more, although he did puff up his chest a little. "And yet you won't go to the ball with me?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Just because I think you're handsome, doesn't mean I'm actually attracted to you." This was true, even if it wasn't applicable. Aife was very good at lies of omission. Although, she preferred to think of it as just misleading a person.

"Oh. Why not?"

Aife thought about telling him the truth for a moment, but decided against it. If she did, he'd probably see right through her. And honestly, if he went to kiss her, Aife didn't think she would be able to help herself. She still had no idea how she'd managed to resist that day with in the broom cupboard, especially considering the lust potion.

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime, but not today," she said.

"Quite the enigma, you are." Aife just gave a small smile in response. It seemed as though Sirius could, maybe, have a crush on her. After all, she wasn't completely oblivious. But did it really matter? He might have just as well had a crush on all those other girls. Aife didn't go for that. Maybe beggars can't be choosers, but Aife would rather go stag than embarrass herself by being one of Sirius's foolish girlfriends, thinking they were special or pretty enough to be the one to keep him.

Vasiliya and Alice looked at Aife from across the room. Vasiliya raised an eyebrow and mouthed, "Black?"

Aife decided to fill them in, if only on the basic details, later.

endnote/ Hooray! Chapter 3 is finally done. I'm sorry if you considered it a tiny bit bland, but I promise some excitement for the next chapter.

word count: 6,695

please please please review! I got no reviews on the last chapter, which was terrible :*( Although notice the correlation between how long it took me to write this and the lack of reviews ;) (this chapter is almost a thousand words longer than normal though). I got the nicest review ever on my first chapter though, many thanks to . I don't mind constructive criticism, or even flames, so be honest 3


	4. Chapter 4

Sirius Encounters, Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the past chapter, every review made me smile ^_^ On a separate note, this chapter skips a day. We left off on Tuesday and we are beginning on Thursday, the day of the detention. I try and go day by day, but there are some days which are just uneventful, and would bore you to death if I wrote them in.

Thursday, Dinnertime

Narcissa was 3 seats away from Aife, complaining loudly about her evening detention.

Aife realized, horrified, that they did, in fact have their detentions together. It will be terrible, but with any luck Sirius will be with them. Black was in and out of detention, but mostly in.

Then again, they were chatting in Runes, a couple periods back, and he said that he was mainly staying out of trouble. Although Aife had, foolishly, agreed to help him design and execute a prank. Aife made a joke about her being the new James. Sirius profusely disagreed, saying that James was not nearly as curvy. Aife knew he had just been joking, but it still stung a bit. Boys like Sirius tended to be quite sexist, although Aife usually knew better than to take it to heart. Still, she realized her crush on Sirius had been growing without Aife even knowing it.

Miyo and Azriela were arguing about Victor Greengrass, who had left lunch early.

"He already has a date," Narcissa said, playing with her food.

"Who?" Azriela demanded.

Narcissa gave her a haughty look, "Annabeth Snow. Seriously, it's been the talk of the school since breakfast. She's a Hufflepuff though," Narcissa snorted. "And a halfblood. A Greengrass could do better."

Typical Narcissa, spouting off pureblood mania. The entire Black family was this way, Narcissa's sister Bellatrix was infamous while Aife was in her first two years. Thankfully, she had left by Aife's third year at Hogwarts. Regulus a younger male version of Bellatrix. Aife pitied Sirius, it wouldn't be fun to have a family full of bigots. Sometimes Aife wondered about their conversation that night. Would it, maybe, be best to have no family at all, than a family like that?

Azriela and Miyo ceased their bickering and put on concentrated expressions, attempting to think of guys who were attractive and available.

"What about that Gryffindor kid, Remus? It seems Gryffindor boys are gaining popularity around here," Azriela shot Aife a devilish grin.

Aife blushed, and said defiantly, "I told you, we're just friends."

Narcissa noticed the exchange, "Oh, really? Well, dear cousin Sirius is nothing if not... available." She almost hissed the word, punctuating it with a smirk.

Aife felt anger rush through her, but less at Narcissa's attempts to goad her and more because she was right.

"I don't know," Azriela said. "He hasn't been with anyone since Tracy Harper. And that was like a week and half ago. Must be something of a record for him." Azriela and Miyo snickered.

The food disappeared from their plates abruptly, signaling the end of dinner.

Aife resignedly made her way to Slughorn's office taking the longer route. Partially to put off detention and partially to avoid Narcissa.

"Finally, we're all here. Narcissa and Evie." Narcissa's smirk deepened. "Ok, time to go Alihotsy picking. You both have your warm cloaks with you? Good," Slughorn said, eyeing them.

Aife ignored his mispronunciation. He had frequently called her Evie, and after a while she'd given up correcting him. Aife had never been sure whether he did this purposefully, just to snub his mediocre students. Her grades in potions weren't terrible, just very average. Aife actually quite liked the subject, but found it difficult to concentrate on, especially in a classroom environment. She did, however, occasionally brew potions in The Cavern at the base of the secret turret. Aife had a decent success rate, but there had been a couple terrible accidents. Luckily, Aife knew how to self-'Episky' by 5th year.

Slughorn lead them out of the castle gates, but did not curve toward the greenhouses.

"Sir," Narcissa said, "Shouldn't we be going to the left?"

Slughorn looked genuinely confused, "And why would we do that, Miss Black?"

Narcissa fought hard to keep her tone polite. "The greenhouses are in the right wing."

"Greenhouses?" Slughorn looked bewildered. "No, no, we're going to the forest."

Aife's brows shot up and Narcissa looked pissed.

He chortled at their expressions. "Goodness, girls. As Sixth years, I expect you to know that you find trees in a forest. They're not too far in, don't worry. Only a couple kilometers."

"Oh, yes, how silly of me," Narcissa muttered, but Slughorn either didn't hear or pretended not to.

Aife ignored her, but a feeling of dread pooled in her stomach. The forest? During a perfect waning crescent moon? Slughorn was mad.

Apprehension settled over them as they entered the first line of trees. The air had become thicker. Aife was reminded of Halloween. This is straight out of a scary movie, she thought.

An owl cooed, startling Aife.

"Scared, Sullivan?" Narcissa sneered.

"Who can blame me? The only thing here not drenched in darkness is your face. Anyone would be scared."

"Bitch."

"Hag."

"Now, Evie, settle down. There's no need for name-calling."

Aife scowled at being the only one to be reprimanded. Slughorn was by far the least fair of all the teachers.

Finally, they came to a clearing, the far edge of which had a crowd of glistening white trees. They looked rather like birches, except their trunks were much wider and more knarled, and their bark had a distinct pale blue glow. The fruit hung off, looking like small blue lemons.

"Alright, now collect the fruit," Slughurn said, conjuring a basket for them both. "Also any young leaves, or ones which glow particularly bright." Most leaves had a dim aura, but others provided better lighting than the sliver of moon above them.

"Careful not to squeeze it, unless you're wearing dragon hide gloves." He announced, conjuring a comfy armchair and making himself comfortable while the two girls worked. "Even then, the more juice we can get, the better."

The girls both whipped out their gloves, picking the fruits. It was a wearing task, and Aife felt hyper aware of everything around her.

They had been working for an hour when a particularly loud crunch made Aife jump. Narcissa snickered. Aife shot her a glare, amber eyes meeting Narcissa's blue eyes. They almost seemed to glow in the dark.

Creepy fucking girl.

Another crunch and a loud yelp from Slughorn had Aife paralyzed by dread. Slowly, she turned around, hoping to not be noticed. But Slughorn was lost to the darkness. The crescent had receded under a cloud.

Narcissa began to scream, her yells punctuated by sobs, and Aife heard muttering coming from the forest.

Fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to die, Aife thought. Here, in the fucking Forbidden Forest, surrounded by screaming Narcissa fucking Black. There was a rush of limbs, pale and angular, and a loud crunch. Aife's own horrified expression was reflected back at her in a pair of crazed, animalistic black eyes.

Trying not to panic, Aife went for her wand, only to realize that Slughorn had it for the duration of their detention. Hundreds of eyes seemed to peer out at her from the darkness, and glints of teeth and fang glowed. There was movement around the foreground of Aife's vision and she felt a stabbing pain in her arm.

Aife's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

Aife blinked blearily, sitting up in her four poster. Had it all been a dream? Would she wake up now, and find that she had a detention to go to? Narcissa was sitting on the bed across from Aife, painting her nails. Aife hesitated, but decided not to say anything. Last thing she needed was the entire dorm thinking her batty.

She felt feverish and got up, stumbling.

"Had a few too many firewhiskies?" Narcissa asked sarcastically.

"No, I've been asleep. Don't we have a detention?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just got back from my detention."

Aife cursed and threw on her nearest jumper and jeans. She did not remember going to sleep, which was highly worrying. But the dream couldn't have been real? Although, Aife didn't put it past Narcissa to play an elaborate prank.

She decided, either way, that it would be good to see Slughorn. She had to apologize for skipping detention. Hopefully, that was it.

"Hello, Ainey. Feeling alright?"

"Uh, sir. Sorry, I missed the detention." Aife was surprised Slughorn was still awake, it was already nearing midnight.

"Missed? Do you mean to say you don't remember? Madam Pomphrey gave you hot chocolate while you were sleeping earlier."

"I– what?"

"You squirted Alihotsy juice on your face," Slughorn said kindly. "You panicked, and Narcissa and I had to restrain you and carry you to the hospital wing. Don't you remember?" He asked, looking worried.

"No. I don't." Aife was starting to feel sick, but her stomach grumbled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, sir."

"Very well, O'Sully. See you in potions," He smiled blankly and puttered around, making tea.

Aife blinked a couple times, and headed for the kitchens, intending to get ginger ale. Possibly a butter beer. Was she losing it? Somehow it was unlikely. Narcissa was most likely messing with her. Slughorn seemed fine, no crunching of bones, like in her nightmare.

Well, at least she had now experienced Alihotsy. Never doing that again, she thought.

Aife tickled the pear, and entered to find a possibly female house elf with cornflower blue eyes staring at her.

"You do not belong here, miss," she squeaked.

Aife felt like Alice, through the rabbit hole. Had she taken a luck draining potion by accident? How could this night be the one and only when the house elves deny her service.

"Could I just get a butter beer?" Aife tried, but the elf shook her head firmly.

"You do not belong he–" she started, but was cut off by another elf. "Here is your butter beer, miss. But Fina is right. You do not belong here."

Another couple elves hurried forward, handing her sweets and pushing her back to the entrance.

"...Okay," Aife said, bewildered. She went back to the dungeon, munching on a pastille and trying to ignore the day's weirdness. The pastille was delicious.

Aife barely made it to her bed in time before she became a ragdoll, completely out of energy. She felt weak, and could barely position herself comfortably before she collapsed. She felt exhausted, and inexplicably hungry, despite loading up on pastries. Her eyelids fluttered shut of their own accord.

Friday

Aife woke up that morning running a high fever. She had come into semi consciousness after Miyo's best attempts to wake her. Miyo had given up after Aife mumbled, "feel... bad" and let the girl sleep. It was now nearly lunch time.

Aife forced herself out of bed, feeling ravenously hungry and lethargic. It felt as though she hadn't eaten in a couple days. But Aife remembered the bleary memories of the night before.

She looked at her reflection, wondering when her skin had become this translucent. The eye bags weren't great either. Her amber eyes seemed more striking, set against all her paleness. Even her hair looked paler than usual, which washed her out even more. Aife briefly recalled those black eyes from the other night, and her own pale, horrified face within them. She shivered, and cast a Tempus charm. There was an hour, give or take, before lunch started.

Aife was tempted to sneak down to the kitchens, but remembered the not-so-warm welcome she had received last night. It was pointless.

Neptune wound herself between Aife's legs, mewling loudly. Aife picked up her kitty and hugged her. She didn't squeeze too hard, of course, and Neptune appreciated being nestled so close to Aife's body heat.

Instead, Aife decided to go down to the common room. At least the common room had a nice view of the lake. Yokslan had come to visit Aife at the common room a couple times. She had stopped after Narcissa had started calling Aife batty and teasing her about not even being able to make friends within her species.

Yokslan had picked up on the negative emotion from Narcissa, as well as Aife's anger, and they bid each other adieu.

The resulting battle of hexes between the two blondes had been ugly.

Aife gazed out the window, enjoying the empty common room, when she realized it wasn't, in fact, empty. There, in the corner, sat Severus Snape.

He looked sullen, as usual, and Aife had a sudden thought.

"You're Lily's friend, right?" she asked him.

He paused from his scribbling, which was barely legible, and looked up. "What answer would you like to hear?" Snape said, nearly allowing himself a sigh. Lily was a great source of contention with the Slytherins.

"Uhh... " Aife was taken aback. "I'm not actually that invested in your answer, I was simply curious. I'd recently made her acquaintance and I'd seen you two talk before, so I was wondering..." She trailed off.

Snape watched her like a hawk. He licked his lips. "Yes, Lily and I are friends." There was longing in his expression. A pang of pity arose in her, and Aife hoped she didn't look like that when she spoke of Sirius.

Aife wasn't eager to continue their conversation, and was about to go but Snape stopped her. "Wait– Sullivan, right?" She nodded. "If you do see Lily, please tell her I'm sorry." A vulnerable look crossed his face, but he shut it down almost immediately. The boy looked rather like an underfed vulture, and the greenish lighting of the common room did nothing for him.

Aife nodded again, and left the common room. House elves be damned, she was going to get some food.

Sirius activated the map, watching all the dots move. It reminded him of muggle arcade games. A muggle girl had taken him out over the summer. Sirius suspected she guessed he was a wizard, especially since she'd called him a "pretty alien boy" a couple times. It was a happy memory, of the arcade. But Sirius couldn't fully enjoy it because of what Bella had done to the girl. Sirius still didn't know if she was in St. Mungos, or a muggle hospital. Possibly dead.

Free periods gave him too much time to think, he concluded. Especially when James wasn't around.

He took his mind off his family, as he so often did, by tracking down Aife's dot. She wasn't in a classroom. In fact, she looked to be heading down the second floor corridor, which lead to the kitchens.

Sirius hesitated for a moment, but decided to follow her anyway. He arranged in hair in a nearby mirror. A slight pout graced his features. He felt childish to even think it, but the words "Why doesn't she like me?" floated to the forefront of his mind.

Shaking his head like a wet dog, he left for the kitchens. Sirius felt only a tiny bit creepy for kinda-stalking the girl.

He got there just as she tickled the pear. Sirius had been very confused by the actions of Aife's dot. She had paced outside of the kitchens for a while, then stood out front, seemingly debating whether to eat. He could understand the behavior if she was chubbier, but the girl was thinner than most.

"Oh! Sirius," she said as the painting opened.

"Fancy meeting you here, hmm?"

"Yeah," Aife blushed slightly.

"Food?"

"Sure, though the house elves were a bit odd last time."

"Odd, how?" Just as the words escaped Sirius's lips, he was greeted by a large group of house elves.

"Miss Sullivan is not welcome." A couple shouted squeakily, and the others took to paraphrasing it.

"Why?" Sirius said, while Aife simply sighed.

"They did the same thing last time," she muttered. "I'm damn hungry. Some witches' helpers you are."

The house elves' expressions ranged from angry to deeply upset. "Ah," said an old elf, with a long stick of a nose, "But Miss is no witch. Miss's kind isn't welcome here."

Aife blanched. "My kind?"

"Yes!" the elf said firmly, and the little ocean of elves pushed her out of the door again. Sirius followed.

"That was very odd," he said thoughtfully. "I've never seen them turn anyone down."

"Not even muggleborns?"

"Definitely not," Sirius said firmly. "Besides, what're you asking that for, you're obviously not a muggleborn. You're a Slytherin."

"Well," Aife said, not sure if now was the right time to tell him. Aife decided to just do it. It felt so frustrating, not telling anyone, and she knew Black would keep her secret. After all, he had told her about his own family.

"The orphanage I grew up in was actually a muggle orphanage. I had no clue about magic until I started developing signs of it myself." Aife had said it in a rush, as if her tongue would give out any second.

"That explains a lot, actually," Sirius stopped playing with the piece of thread at his sleeve and looked up at her. He gave her a soft smile, and Aife felt gooey. "Don't worry," he added, "your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Of course. Now, how about I get us some food?"

Aife returned his grin, and Sirius returned minutes later with dishes of roast chicken and mash, as well as a dish full of sandwiches.

Aife raised an eyebrow at the full plate.

"I wasn't sure what you liked," Sirius said, slightly sheepish.

They carried their food into a nearby empty classroom, stealing the two teachers' chairs for themselves.

"So that is odd. Why do you think they suddenly won't let you in?" Sirius asked, between bites of food.

"I'm not sure. I've had a weird couple days though," Aife gingerly unwrapped her plate. Before Sirius could ask her to elaborate, she sniffed loudly, saying "This doesn't smell quite right. Do you think they knew it was for me?"

"Nah, house elves wouldn't dare mess with food," Sirius said, though he looked dubious. "Here let's switch."

Aife sniffed at Sirius's food, but it smelled much the same way. She wrinkled her nose.

"Still not doing it for you, eh?" he said.

Aife felt faint. "I think... I think I'm going to lay down," she said, laying down right there on the classroom floor. She just felt so weak and hungry.

"Aife?" Sirius said, concern lacing his voice. "Are you alright?"

But Sirius's voice seemed as though it were coming from under water.

"Aife?" He leaned over her, his face inches from her's.

"Hungry..." she said. A shiver crept up Aife's spine and all she could hear was Sirius's pulse, matching her own almost exactly. She had no clue what made her do it, but she snapped her mouth to his neck.

Sirius let out a moan, which turned into a yelp as a pair of fangs descended into his neck. Sirius's thoughts went from "Yes!" to "What in the bloody fucking hell?" to "This feels amazing."

Aife felt euphoria as the blood coursed through her. Her hunger abated a bit and she came to her senses. With a great deal of effort, Aife pulled back from Sirius's throat.

Sirius had been shivering. Instinctively, she licked the bite her teeth had made.

Sirius looked at her with a mixture of awe and horror. "You're a vampire."

"Am I?" Aife asked. "Cool!" Aife wasn't sure if being a vampire was anything like it was in muggle literature, but if she had super strength and speed, sucking blood would be so worth it.

"You just drank my blood," Sirius said, still dazed.

"Uh... I'm sorry. I don't think I took more than a litre, and you have five of those, well now four, so you should be good. I am sorry though, if you want I can help you to the hospital wing."

Aife and Siris were both in shock.

"I just got blood sucked from my neck by a vampire," Sirius said, exhaling every word as though it were heavier than air. "Who happens to be the girl I like."

Aife blinked, processing the last bit. That felt nice to hear. Aife had hoped, albeit foolishly, that Sirius liked her. She still wasn't going to go through with something as idiotic as a relationship with Sirius Black. Although, Aife supposed it was the least of her concerns, as she had just sucked his blood.

"I'm really sorry, Sirius. Please, don't tell anyone," Aife said. Sirius looked at her with suspicion in his eyes. Aife burst into tears. They weren't so much for grief as they were for shock. She was a vampire. A bloody vampire. No pun intended.

"It's um... it's alright. I won't tell anyone. Don't worry about it," he said shakily.

"Right. Thank you. I really am sorry, I just had no clue that would happen. It was instinct." Aife gestured to his neck, but all that was left were light bruises that passed for hickies and two nearly invisible marks where her fangs had descended.

Aife reached up to touch her incisors. They felt sharper than normal, for sure, but they were her usual size. She suspected the lengthened during the... feeding process.

Then she thought of something. "But I'm alive. You can hear my heartbeat."

Sirius took her pulse, and Aife suppressed yet another shiver as his fingers touched her neck.

"No, I don't feel it. Perhaps it went away now that you've drank human blood. That was your first time, right?"

Aife nodded numbly. She had no pulse. She was dead.

Aife tried desperately to find her pulse, but Sirius had been right. She shook herself, and told herself that she now had cool vampire powers. It was worth it.

"So, am I like, super strong now?"

Sirius frowned. "No, I don't think so. Though you should be able to turn invisible at will, and see well at night. The sun will turn you to ash though, according to legend, but there are spells that protect against it." Sirius gave a large sigh. "I can't believe this is fucking happening. How did you even become a vampire."

Aife took a few minutes to recount everything that happened in the past two days.

"Whew. I'll bet you anything Narcissa bit you. I always thought she was a vampire," he said, with a humorless laugh. "So how do you feel about it?"

"Feel about what?"

"Being dead?"

"Oh. It's... interesting? No, I don't know. I really, honestly have no bloody clue." Aife inhaled a large breath. "It's a bit sudden, I suppose."

"Well, I can tell you something, if you promise to keep it a secret. It might make you feel better. A secret for a secret?"

"Okay," Aife said hesitantly.

"I'm an animagus."

"You're a– Wai– Really?" Aife said, her words tumbling over one another in the rush to escape her mouth.

"Really," he grinned. Then, after looking around for passing people, Sirius proceeded to turn into a great black dog.

He nudged Aife's cheek with his wet nose and then turned back.

"Woah. Honestly I feel like that's almost weirder than being a vampire."

"Blimey, you really know how to make a bloke smile, don't you?"

Aife gave Sirius an abashed grin.

"I suppose I do," she said, after he returned the smile. "That is incredible, though. I've always wanted to turn into a cat."

"Yeah, but then we'd hate each other. You know, the eternal dog and cat rivalry?"

"Stop stereotyping animals," Aife swatted his arm jokingly.

"And magical creatures. It's not your fault you're a blood sucking creature of the night."

"No," she sighed. "I suppose it's not."

"Do you suppose you'll tell anyone?"

"No, not besides you. Who else do I have to tell?" Aife said.

Sirius felt a warmth at that. It felt good to be someone's confidant. Especially when that someone was a pretty girl. Blimey, didn't he say earlier that he liked her? Ah well, might as well go ahead with it. He shouldn't push it too much though, having her as a friend was nice, and he wouldn't want to botch it up like James.

"I'm flattered."

"I need to find someone to snack on, though. I think I can eat some foods, I'll have to check the library. Pastries were yummy the other night, but I also hadn't officially died yet then. At least I don't think so."

"I think vampires can eat sweets. Why else would Honeyduke's sell blood-flavoured lollipops?" Sirius said, looking thoughtful.

"Nice, although I'm going to have to use my new vampire stealth when I buy them. I also gotta look for a spell that'll help with the sun. Or else I'll be dead in Herbology. Literally." Aife would be very upset if she couldn't see sunlight again.

"Well... I suppose I could be your 'snack' as you put it. You're buying all the blood replenishing potions, mind you. I'm not walking around 1/5 empty. How often do you think you'll have to feed anyway?"

"You'll do it? Thank you, Sirius." Aife gave him a hug. She pulled away a little too quickly, blushing slightly. Great, she thought. I'm undead and yet I still blush.

"Mhm." He gave her a warm smile. "On one condition."

Aife frowned for a second and said, "Name it."

"You'll go with me to Slughorn's Halloween Party. He's insisting that I come and there'll be some interesting people."

"Yeah, alright. That doesn't seem too bad." She cracked a grin.

"Brilliant. I'd ask you to the Halloween Ball, but I already have a date."

Did Aife imagine his disappointed tone? She felt a small curl of envy in her stomach, but shoved it away. Aife reminded herself that she wasn't going to be one of Sirius's girlfriends.

"It's alright, I'll probably be able to find someone."

Sirius looked as though he wanted to say something, but held his tongue. "I'm sure you'll find a great date." He forced a grin.

Aife did the same.

The lunch bell rang and the castle became significant louder, as the babble of hundreds of students blended together.

"Well, we'd better get to lunch." Sirius touched his neck.

"I can fix that," Aife said, glad to be of some help. "Episky!"

Sirius's bruise didn't budge.

"Huh. That's never failed me before."

"It's probably because it's dark magic. Vampirism falls under black magic."

"Oh, how fitting." Aife smiled to herself. "I have a scarf, though. I can spell it into non-Slytherin colors."

"Alright."

Aife dug the scarf out and turned the green stripes black. "There you go. House-neutral."

"Hold on," Sirius said, taking the scarf. "In the spirit of the holidays," he tapped the scarf with his wand and the silver stripes turned orange. He cast an Engorgement Charm, and slung the scarf around his neck.

"How do I look," Sirius asked.

"Marvelous."

"Excellent."

Many heads turned their way when Sirius and Aife entered the Great Hall.

Aife realized that she would actually rather sit with the Gryffindors than see Narcissa. Lily waved to her, and Aife decided this was best.

Sirius was pleasantly surprised when Aife headed to the Gryffinfor table. He sat down across from Lily and Aife, next to a couple fifth years, one of whom was a Gryffindor beater.

"Hey," Lily said, giving Aife an easy smile. "It's nice to see you. You gave me lots of ammunition against James. Now, whenever he bothers me, I just bring up rubber chickens. Works like a charm." Lily smiled at her own pun.

"Nice," Aife smiled. "I'm glad he still remembers."

"So, how come you aren't sitting with the Slytherins? Not that I mind, of course!"

"Eh, too many unpleasant people. Miyo isn't even there yet, so there's really nothing for me there."

"Mm, I get that."

"Speaking of unpleasant people, Severus Snape wanted me to tell you he's sorry."

Lily looked irritated. "Yes, well, he was, indeed, very unpleasant the other night. We were arguing yesterday. He asked me to take a walk around the grounds with him, around curfew. Anyway, he was spewing out this rubbish about Voldemort not being as bad as everyone thinks. Like misunderstood, and all. I got pissed, told him where he could shove it. And you know what he said?"

"Hmm?" Aife asked. Lily was getting a bit heated now. Sirius and the fifth years had tuned in to listen, as well as a 6th year girl a couple seats away from Lily.

"He said I should be taken by whatever's in that Chamber. And then he storms off into the forest," Lily finished dramatically.

"What a bastard. I'm sorry," Aife offered her condolences, but wasn't really sure if she meant it. After all, Lily had made an idiotic decision by being friends with Snape. The guy was a creep.

"Perhaps I out to teach old Snivelly a lesson?" James Potter said, coming up from behind Lily.

"You're as big a bastard as he is," Lily said angrily. "Seeing as what you did to Aife."

"Right. Actually, about that," Potter ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, for everything. But especially the quidditch match. I'm sorry about that. But, after what you did, I consider it square."

Potter stuck out a hand for Aife to shake.

"Very well." She grasped it, albeit suspiciously. "A ceasefire."

Potter grinned. It was a nice grin, but it wasn't as nice as Sirius's.

Potter turned to Sirius. "I've been a tosser. I'd like to be friends again."

Remus Lupin, who sat a bit down the table, gave James an approving gaze.

"Ahh... alright. I suppose, since you've apologized to Aife and all then we can be friends. You're still a huge tosser, though."

"Fair enough."

A/N: Aww, wasn't that a warm and fuzzy ending? Well, I could probably do better, but there you have it. In 6th year, James is still, very much, a tosser. I envision him, in terms of personality, as a kind of Harry/Draco hybrid. With Harry's courage, obviously. Also, what did you think of that plot twist? Please please tell me in reviews! :*) please

Word count: 5,071

edit: I realized this has more typos then I'd like, so I'm just doing a morning-after reupload: now with less typos!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Since we left off on a lot of dialogue, I'm going to do some rambling. Also, I only recently realized that the asterisks I put between snippets don't show on FF, so I'll put in underscores instead and hope those work. I'll edit the earlier chapters to match once I'm done with the story, since I revise little things in the first chapters over time anyway. On a different note, I'm sorry if you didn't like my vampire cliche. But, it was rather necessary. Trust me, it's for the plot :*)

Btw, I use British and American slang interchangeably. I'm American (although my dad does live in London, and I'm moving in with him for my Senior year), so I try to spice it up a bit.

We leave off on Saturday, the 15th. Slughorn's party is Friday, the 28th. The Halloween Ball is Sunday, the 30th. There are no classes Monday, in celebration, and the Halloween feast is Monday night, officially Halloween.

Saturday

Aife went to the library right after "breakfast". She didn't eat much, only the sweetest things, like pancakes and honey. The pancakes weren't great but they would do. Aife was getting hungry again, and it was time to do some research. She had cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and wandered into the section on vampires. Granted, she could say it was for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but this was the safer option.

Sirius had told her that vampires can disappear, but Aife had no clue how she'd do that. Unfortunately, the library did not have a "Guide to Vampirism for Beginners". They did, however, have "Creatures of the Night, a Summary of the Vampire", which Aife decided would have to do. She moved sections and de-disillusioned herself.

Aife found the 6th year Slytherin dorm to be empty. The torches cast a pleasant glow around the room, making the dungeon almost inviting. They had tiny round windows which peered into the lake, though some of the lower ones were obscured by algae.

She skimmed the book, and found that newborn vampires had to feed three times every two days, at the very least. This would gradually fade into once a week, after a few months. Older vampires could go a month or two without feeding, but it would render them nearly powerless. A famous Vampiress, Anormenotta of Venice, once lasted 4 months without feeding, the longest time on record. She had been around for half a millennium though.

Aife sat there, attempting to cope with the concept of immortality. Sure, many wizards lived to 100, rarely 200. But Aife would– no, could outlive them all. What would it be like, for them to grow old, and for her to stay 16 forever? Granted, she would age very slowly. It would take about 7 years for her to look 17. What about any boys she liked? They would probably be repulsed by her half-dead state. Sirius flashed through her mind, but she shut down those thoughts. Aife had hoped, at some point, to have a family. There was no chance of that now. Vampires were sterile.

On the brighter side, pun intended, Aife had found the spell she required to save her from the sun. It would coat her skin in a thin film, which would soak up the sunlight. It would feel heavy, and make her tired, but it was better than burning alive for sure.

Aife also now had a surplus of time, which was excellent for finishing homework. She no longer needed to sleep at night, so she watched all the other girls fall asleep and crept out of the dormitory. Aife wondered, that night, if Narcissa was pretending to sleep just like her.

Who else could have bit her? Aife doubted there were random vampires roaming around the Forbidden Forest. Those were just lies they told first years, to watch their faces pale in horror. And somehow she didn't think Slughorn was a vampire. She had seen him dive into mince pies too many times to believe that.

Moko flittered into the room, looking around her jewelry cabinet frantically. Aife decided that the dormitory was now unsafe, and headed to her secret tower. It was time for research.

The Slytherin girl spent a couple hours pouring over books on vampirism. She had yet to find how gillyweed affected vampires. It had been over a week since she'd last visited Yokslan.

Aife went down to the cavern to cast the Pyrogarius Charm, which would keep her safe from the sun. The first time she tested it out in real sunlight Aife burned. Perhaps not as badly as she would've without the charm, but badly nonetheless. It took her several more tries to avoid a burn, but she made quick progress. Pain was a good motivator.

Aife had little luck healing herself, and, once again, found herself immersed in Magicks of Olde and Ancient, volume two. There were five volumes in all, each getting progressively darker. She found a Dark Arts healing spell to use on her arm, which involved the sacrifice of a newt. Aife watched her wound close up as she took the tiny newt heart and rested it over the damaged area. She felt the familiar hunger, and wondered where Sirius was off to.

Then she remembered his words about blood replenishing potions, and immediately got to work on one. They usually took no more than hour. Aife made a mental reminder to stock up on me wolf fangs, mullein leaf, and fox skin, along with Dragon's Blood resin.

By the time Aife finished the potion she felt starving. Her eyes glowed a bright, dark orange, which looked dangerously close to red. At least I look the part, she thought dryly. Aife bottled the potion and scrawled a quick note to Sirius, folded it into a paper crane, and tapped it with her wand. Immediately, the crane fluttered and glided through the air to go find Sirius.

Sirius was talking with James on their way back from lunch about the chances of Puddlemere United in this year's World Cup. James said they were pretty good, but Sirius didn't think they stood a chance next to Bulgaria. They argued, which left Sirius almost nostalgic for these simple spats, but eventually exhausted the subject. The school had almost forgotten about the Chamber, as no one else was dying and very few students cared about John Sedgewick. There had been several vigils for him, and some frightened looking muggleborns and friends, but the rest of the school chose to pretend nothing was happening.

"So, are you taking anyone to Slughorn's Halloween Party?" James asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Erm, yeah. Aife, actually."

"Oh," James looked slightly guilty, and rubbed the back of his head. "That's good. She wouldn't be able to go otherwise, right?"

"Yeah." Sirius could almost taste the tension. "Did you ask Lily?"

James nodded glumly.

"She turned you down?"

He nodded again.

"Well, I don't think Remus has a date, either. So you're not alone. And I'm sure you can still find someone to go with, you have a week."

"Yeah," James said tersely, and changed the subject. "What will you dress up as?"

"Good question. Maybe that guy from the Weird Sisters. Stubby Boardman, right? The fella everyone's saying looks like me."

"He really does. It wouldn't be much of a costume though, you'd just have to tear up your robes a bit. Maybe just let Mooney have a go at you in a few weeks."

Sirius gave James a look, but cracked a grin nonetheless.

A small paper bird landed on his shoulder. Sirius carefully unfolded it, revealing a note from Aife.

"Sirius Black. Would you like to have an early dinner together tonight? Five o'clock works for me, meet me in the same place as last time. Aife."

"Definitely a romantic, that one," James said, reading over Sirius's shoulder.

"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to nose into other people's budiness?"

Sirius went down to the room near the kitchens. Apprehension frazzled his nerves and he wondered why he was volunteering to get his blood sucked by a vampire. I'm helping a friend, he told himself firmly. Besides, it didn't feel half bad the first time. Sure, it pinched a bit at first, but after that it felt... wonderful? Was that the right word? Merlin, Sirius thought. He needed to get ahold of himself.

Aife was a vision. Sirius would've liked to pretend the hunger in her eyes was there for him, and not his blood. Why did his family have to ruin everything? They even turned the girl he liked into a blood-sucking fiend.

She greeted him, and Sirius made to step in but she blocked his way.

"Are you crazy? We can't do it here."

"It worked the last time," Sirius shrugged. "But I think you're right. Where, though?"

Aife hesitated, but seemed to make up her mind. "I have a place."

Sirius was bewildered when she led him up to the Gryffindor tower.

"My dorm?" he asked.

"No." Aife passed the portrait hole, and went to a nearby classroom. "You'll see."

She led him into an empty classroom, save a few desks and a larger than life statue of a cat. Aife muttered a spell to turn her wand into a knife and cut off a lock of her hair. She held out the strand to the cat statue, which sprang to life and pawed it from her hand.

"Your hair tastes different," said the cat, licking up the hair.

"Yes, well. I've undergone a lot of changes lately," Aife told the cat dryly.

"I see." The cat sprang aside, revealing a small passageway.

Sirius gaped. He'd always assumed that the marauders hasn't discovered all the passages, but to have one so close, and not know about, seemed ridiculous.

Aife led him to a small tower, with a spiral staircase leading both upwards and downwards. Sirius was intrigued.

"I put some wards to block out the damaging parts of the sun," Aife said, and lead him up to the top of the tower. It held a room with clouds at the very top of the turret, a bed, some sparse furnishings, and a painting. The painting, Sirius realized with a jolt, must have been a self portrait.

"Ah, I see you've brought a friend," said the painted Aife jauntily.

"Oh stuff it, you," the real Aife said. "Or I'll paint you over."

"No, you won't. I'm you, remember? I know an empty threat when I hear one."

They bickered, and Sirius chortled at the exchange. It was bizarre, but the two Aifes were so similar. They had both scrunched up their noses at one another. It must have been like looking into the mirror.

"Sorry," Aife said, conjuring a sheet and tossing it over the painting.

"Don't be. That's brilliant," Sirius told her. "I didn't know you painted."

"Been doing it since I was eleven." Aife's eyes flicked to his throat. Sirius shifted slightly. He had butterflies in his stomach.

"I can tell," Sirius smiled nervously. The expression was entirely incorrect on Sirius's face and Aife felt a pang of pity.

"You don't have to do this, you know? I appreciate you wanting to help, but it's–"

Sirius cut her off, "I'm not going back on my word."

"Ok. I did brew some blood replenishing potions." Aife gave him a soft smile and reached into her bag, putting the vials on the simplistic bedside cabinet.

"Thanks. Well, then. Shall we?" Sirius gestured to the bed, sitting down.

"I think it would be easier if you laid down," Aife told him, blushing furiously. "You'll probably feel lightheaded."

"Yeah, alright."

Aife felt a mixture of lust and hunger surge through her at the sight of Sirius on her bed, attempting to look casual. He lounged back on an elbow, looking at her expectantly.

She climbed up next to him. Realistically, it would be easiest to just climb on top of Sirius, the way they'd ended up last time, but Aife didn't think she'd be able to resist kissing him. Perhaps she was being foolish, drinking his blood yet being afraid to kiss him. However, if he kissed her and got bored, she'd be out of a friend and food, so Aife wasn't going to chance it.

Aife sucked on his neck, the purple-pink bruises bloomed across his pale skin. Her fangs descended and she felt the blood flow from him. It made her feel warm and content, feelings which quickly turned more sexual as Sirius let out a moan beneath her.

Aife tried to regulate the speed at which she drank his blood. It was difficult, since feeding relied on instinct. She accidentally stopped a couple times, but eventually managed a slow pace.

She curled around him, sucking slowly. Aife draped her leg around his torso, only to be poked by something hard. Blushing, she shifted her leg up. Sirius gasped. Aife was too comfortable to feel embarrassed.

"Fuck," he breathed as Aife released her fangs from his neck.

"I'm sorry," she said, licking his neck. "Did it hurt?"

"Not exactly," Sirius grinned.

Aife got up to grab the blood replenishing potion, Sirius tugged her back to him. Aife collapsed back on the bed with him, smiling softly.

"I've got to grab your potion."

"Eh, you didn't take too much this time. I don't feel as dizzy, besides, this is comfortable."

"That's because you're laying down," Aife pointed out, "You'd be dizzy if you got up and walked around."

"Good thing I have no intention of doing that, then."

"So," Miyo said, lounging across her bed, "when's our next bathroom meeting?"

"That's a damn good question," Aife replied, stretching. It was right after dinner, and pretending to eat had been a huge pain. Plus, she'd been distracted by Sirius. And the bump she'd felt press into her thigh. Was it just the blood-sucking making him horny. Aife hoped it wasn't, although it was known to increase lust in a human when a vampire bit them.

"Tonight?" Miyo asked.

"Why not? Just give me a bit, I'm incredibly comfortable right now." And Aife was. Blood made her feel happy and a bit lazy, especially a couple hours after she fed. At least, that's how it was so far.

"Ate a lot?"

"You could say that."

"I was being sarcastic, you hadn't eaten much at all." Miyo gave her a suspicious look. "You're not one of those anorexics are you? Because there's a pair in Hufflepuff and it's not pretty. They look like skeletons–"

Aife cut off her rambling, "No, I'm not anorexic, I just haven't been too hungry lately. Besides, I had a big lunch."

"Mm. Well, I don't think you can play quidditch if you get much thinner."

"Stop nagging, let's just go to damn bathroom. I haven't learned a useful new spell in ages."

"Someone's a grumpy bitch."

Aife shot her a look.

"Yeah, yeah, frown harder, let's just bring our brooms. We can play night quidditch after, test my hypothesis."

They put on warm sweaters and wooly tights under their robes and headed off. Not wanting to look to look conspicuous, the two girls shrunk down their brooms and put them in their school bags.

"You know, that can't be good for brooms," Aife said thoughtfully. "It could interfere with their magic or something."

Miyo shrugged, wrapping the broom carefully in fabric and slipping it in a pouch. "Works for me. This Nimbus works as good as Ewell's, and he treats his like it's a family heirloom. Won't even let Bulstrode ride it, and she's his girlfriend."

Miyo and Ewell were the only players, aside from Regulus, who were rich enough to have The Nimbus. It had come out the summer after their 4th year, and Miyo had gotten it within the month of its release. Aife still had no clue what her parents did. The Kamimoze clan was something akin to the Blacks or the Malfoys, except in Japan. Currently, according to Miyo, they were in the process of finding her a husband. Miyo might laugh about it in school, but Aife knew she was resigned to marry whomever they chose. Japanese purebloods were notorious for cruel and unusual punishments. Aife actually paid attention in Binns's class when he talked about the The Japanese Wizard Convention of 1542.

Aife and Miyo were greeted by a large puddle outside Myrtle's bathroom.

"That whiny bitch must've flooded it again," Miyo groaned. "One of these days, I'm going to find a Silencing Charm that works on ghosts."

"Actually, there's a way to make almost any spell work on ghosts. I found it in Magicks Olde and Ancient volume 4. I doubt you'd have the strength to cast it yet, though," Aife put in.

"I mastered a volume 5 spell just the other day, I'll have you know," Miyo said smugly.

"Really?" Aife said mildly. Volume five was exclusively very powerful and very dark magic. "What the hell did you do, split your soul?"

Miyo turned up her nose at the muggle slang and said, "No, I just put a powerful binding spell between myself and this necklace." She reached in her robe to pull out a locket with green emeralds. "Mother got it for me as a birthday present."

"What's the point? What if you lose it?"

"It gives me power. And it'll be very painful if I lose it, but I'd recover," Miyo replied, looking at the locket and flipping it over.

Aife stared at her. "You're kind of an idiot, but I can see why you'd do it."

"Mm. Do you plan on wading through this? I would like to hex Myrtle."

"It gets too deep over there," Aife pointed. "Nah, we'd probably be caught by the caretaker when he comes to clean it up."

Filch was a hateful little squib, every Slytherin knew it. The Filches were once a respected pureblood clan. They were related to the Gaunts, however distantly, and therefore Slytherin. But Argus Filch's grandfather, Corpeus, had married a muggle, and so had the caretaker's father. Aife had read up on all pureblood families, fascinated by the magical world. It's a pity most purebloods she knew well were terrible people. Of course, Sirius was an exception. But on the whole, Aife didn't buy into the pureblood mania. She could see how a pureblood might be more powerful than your average wizard, but the muggleborns were occasionally incredibly gifted.

Miyo deliberated for a minute, but apparently dry feet were more important than hexing Myrtle. "Fuck this, let's just go play quidditch."

Realistically, it wasn't so much a game of quidditch as it was the two girls dicking around on brooms for a hour. They did play a Seeker's Game, though. Miyo obviously won, but Aife didn't fair too bad. She had been close to catching the snitch when Miyo cut her off at the last moment.

They did loops and spun around on their brooms, partially for fun, partially for warmth in the October night.

"So, have you got a date for the Halloween Ball? It's only a couple weeks away, you know?" Miyo said as they spelled themselves dry. Miyo's hair stuck to her scalp with sweat, and she brushed away a stray lock. Hair was one thing they didn't dare charm dry.

Aife, curiously, did not sweat anymore. One of the perks of being dead.

"No, but I do have a date for Slughorn's party."

"Really?" Miyo was in full gossip mode. Aife sighed, knowing that the whole school would probably know. Why did she even bring it up in the first place? Aife felt as though she could kick herself. As it was, a few girls had come up to her and asked if she were dating Sirius Black. Aife had done her best to smile and say, "He's all yours."

"Yeah. Please don't tell people. Please."

"It's Sirius Black, isn't it!" Miyo said excitedly.

"Yes, it's Sirius. Please, Miyo."

"But what about Azriela? And Alice and Vasiliya?"

"You can tell them, I guess, but no one else, ok?"

"Of course," Miyo beamed.

They lowered their voices as they went back to the castle.

"So, you fancy Sirius Black? Are you a masochist?"

"I don't fancy him! We're going as friends."

"So you haven't done the dirty?" Miyo teased.

"No."

"Afraid of being tossed aside like a used rag?" Miyo whispered maliciously. There were distant footsteps near the gate.

Aife gave her a cold look and wrenched the door open.

"You have Volume 4 with you, right?" Miyo said, after she made sure the coast was clear. "Because I really do wanna hex Myrtle. I can make it permanent, too. Or near permanent, anyway. Should last at least the next couple years."

"Yeah, alright," Aife said, pulling the heavy book out of her bag. She tapped it to unshrink it a bit.

"Here you go. Don't do anything too stupid," Aife told her.

Miyo grinned. "Well, let's just say Myrtle's having a surprise tonight."

Aife sighed and went down to the dungeons. Large puddles seemed to fill the halls, which Aife attributed to either Peeves or a student's prank. It was a fair bet it was one of the Marauders. Well, not Pettigrew, since he hardly ever acted on his own.

Aife found the common room occupied by Snape, Mulciber, and Avery from 7th year. He excused himself from them, heading towards Aife.

He gestured for her to come outside the common room door with him.

Aife raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to lead her out.

Snape began to speak as soon as he shut the dungeon door. "Did Lily say anything?"

"Oh, right. That," Aife said uncomfortably. This was an odd situation she'd caught herself in. She hardly knew Lily or Snape. Well, Lily was sort of a friend, but still. "I think she's still upset. Perhaps talk to her and apologize?"

"I've tried," Snape hissed. His dark hair fell forward. Merlin, it really was greasy. "She won't talk to me."

"Mm. I don't know what else I can do, Snape. Sorry."

Snape looked frustrated, his lips were making a tight line to rival Professor McGonagall.

"Goodnight," Aife offered, stepping back into the common room.

Snape looked as though he wanted to say soothing, but apparently refrained. Aife thanked God for a dormitory full of sleeping girls, minus Miyo. Even Narcissa seemed to be asleep.

Sunday

Sirius yawned and stretched luxuriously. He lived for Sunday mornings. Remus was already dressed, reading some contemporary muggle book in bed. James looked peaceful and innocent while sleeping, qualities which he didn't possess awake. His usual expression was haughty yet cheerful. Sirius's was haughty and cool. Not quite cold, though, he wasn't part of the family enough for that. Perhaps it was his eyes that made him look that way, their ashy color was harsh and unusual. Grey eyes, grey without any hint of blue, were a traditional Black family trait. Narcissa, Sirius and Andromeda had been the only ones to inherit it this generation.

Sirius winced as he looked in the mirror. The bite marks were gone, unless you knew where to look for them, but the "hickeys" were still very noticeable. James had apparently woken up, because he strutted into the bathroom, chortling.

"That Slytherin really did a number on you, eh?" James said, getting ready for his morning shower.

Sirius winked, but said nothing.

"Ever the enigma, aren't you?"

Sirius didn't think he could pull off a second wink, so he went with a mischievous smile, excusing himself.

Sirius had a very nice dream. Which involved a certain vampire. But really, how hot was that? Many young wizards fantasized about vampire girls. He just wished he knew how to charm her. Clearly, she wasn't interested right now, and all the usual tricks didn't seem to be working. It didn't feel like all the other witches he'd been with. Or even any muggle girls, for that matter. He and Andromeda had once gone to a muggle club, when he was 14 and she was 18. To be fair, he'd looked old for his age. It was a very odd experience, and the main thing he'd learned was that muggle beer tasted like utter shite.

Remus and Peter were playing chess while Sirius dressed. He found a navy blue jumper to wear under his robes for added coziness. Scotland was already quite cold by mid-October, and the castle wasn't too chilly, but it did have the occasional cold draft.

Remus was reprimanding Peter about something or other as the four boys made their way down to breakfast. As soon as they sat down, they knew something was terribly wrong. Whispers carried up and down each table. James asked Uliana Kundst what was the matter.

"There's been another attack. From the Chamber," she said dramatically. "It was a girl, I think from Ravenclaw. I don't know a name."

It was a glum atmosphere during the rest of breakfast, and Sirius felt too uneasy to be really hungry. Of course, he had nothing to fear from the Heir, but he did, after all, have muggleborn friends. Would the school shut down if students kept dying? Perhaps he could ask Professor Onclois tomorrow.

"We have Hogsmeade today, though," James said, trying to cheer him up.

"I'm not even sure I want to go. Not exactly the right mood," Sirius replied, carefully cutting up an egg. Impeccable table manners had been ingrained in him from birth. Walburga had even tied his back to the chair a few times, until he'd learned to sit up straight while eating. Of course, he'd stopped eating like that after 2nd year, when James told him that he looked like a pompous ass.

"That's crazy. Besides, what about that girl? Aife? Weren't you gonna take her?" James said with an air of forced casualness. He had the same tone whenever Aife was brought up.

"She said she was going to Diagon Alley. Got special permission from Dumbledore, or something," Peter said, eager for a chance to pipe in.

"Really?" Sirius asked, frowning. "She never told me that. Besides, I saw her yesterday. Wouldn't she have gone on a Saturday?"

"Yeah, mate, we know you saw her yesterday," James snorted, gesturing to Sirius's neck.

Sirius gave him a sideways look, but said nothing. Their friendship, albeit rocky, had been renewed. And it was better, being friends with James again. James was a constant in Sirius's life that he had grown to rely on. Things just felt off without James around.

One of the Black family owls, Libra, swooped into the hall. Sirius groaned as she flew towards him. The bird was temperamental, much like her owners. Libra could be nice, though, with enough wine. Sort of like Aunt Druella.

Libra dropped the letter, gave Sirius the cold, haughty look owls and Blacks were famous for, and quickly took flight.

"Sirius. We hear you have a girlfriend in Slytherin. This is wonderful news. Assuming she is of pure blood, we would like to arrange to meet with her family. We are glad you have seen the error of your previous views. Perhaps you would like us to see if we can arrange for your immediate transfer to Slytherin house? Albus Dumbledore may be more receptive to our arguments if he understands the bloodline is at stake. Let us know as soon as possible, Sincerely yours, Orion Black."

Sirius glared at the back of Narcissa's head. He had no doubt it was she who snitched to his family. Or Regulus, on second thought. Although Regulus usually knew to stay out Sirius's affairs, because while Regulus knew some Dark Arts, they still didn't compete with the high level magic Sirius knew by sixth year.

If only his parents knew his girlfriend was a vampire. They might finally disown him and get it over with. His mother had a lot to say on the subject of half-breeds. Walburga, unlike Druella, did not become nice after a glass of wine. In fact, she was known to have longwinded conversations about stamping out muggles with the house elf, Kreacher, after a half bottle. Sirius had always left the room whenever his mother drank, though.

He had learned his lesson after his mother decided to educate him on family history. Sirius preferred not to know just how inbred he was. It was bad enough that Walburga and Orion were second cousins.

"Any news?" Remus asked mildly, tearing the crusts off his toast.

"Just the usual rubbish, really. Asked if I'd want them talk to Dumbledore about transferring houses," Sirius rolled his eyes. "You'd think they'd have stopped trying after the fifth time. I thought Walbura was going to hex Dumbledore's phoenix. It sent a nice flame at her after she said 'mudblood', though, the lovely creature."

Peter and Remus laughed, but James looked deep in thought.

"Speaking of Dumbledore, I have a prank idea. You know, to celebrate the renewed vitality of our friendship," James announced.

"Yeah? What's Dumbledore got to do with it?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat is in his office, yeah?"

"I see. I feel as though there should be something about a permanent sticking charm in this conversation."

"An excellent point, Prongs."

Sirius felt good to have earned back his nickname. James hadn't used it since the fight until today. "And Peeves," Sirius added.

"Tricky, but worthwhile." James turned to Remus. "Do you think you and Wormtail would be able to get ahold of Peeves somehow?"

"Possibly," Lupin replied, "It won't be easy though. We might have to bribe the Bloody Baron somehow." He looked doubtful.

"Moldy peanuts?" Sirius suggested.

"Not bad, but we'd probably need something a bit more enticing," Mooney replied. "We can pick something up in Hogsmeade today."

"Alright, let's head back then." James rose from the table and gestured for the other to do the same. Many heads turned to see Sirius Black and James Potter leaving the Great Hall together, on speaking terms once more.

Aife sat comfortably in the library. She had transfigured one the hard wooden library chairs into a plushy leather armchair. Aife lounged in it, reading a Dark Arts book disguised as Advanced Transfiguration. As if Aife hadn't already learned all the spells in Advanced Transfiguration. It was amazing how much free time one had when they didn't bother with close friends.

Which was only increased, now that Aife didn't sleep and often skipped meals. She had skipped breakfast that day, deciding to nip down to Honeydukes instead and buy some blood-lollies. She had went around 6 am, sneaking out of the castle, and coming back around 9. It was a long walk, but Aife had nearly endless energy, as long as she was well fed.

Aife had found that she preferred to not have friends in first year. Narcissa Malfoy had become her friend, but it turned out that she had done so just because she had wanted to publicly humiliate Aife. For being weird. Aife had never exactly understood what Narcissa's motivation was. Aife had never done anything mean to Narcissa, or snubbed her in any way. But she supposed weirdness was a good enough excuse to bully people for some. Aife had assumed Hogwarts would've been more accepting in this regard, but she had unfortunately been mistaken. Many wizards and witches treated her the same way the muggles had.

Aife heard movement, which was unusual for this corner of the library, to find Pomona Bletchley approaching her.

"Hey, Sullivan," she said, a bit nervously. Aife wondered how Bletchley knew her name. They had spoken maybe once, and that was for a quill.

"Hello, Bletchley."

"You're Sirius's girlfriend, right?" Bletchley blurted. She blushed intensely.

"No, we're just friends."

"Good friends?"

"I'd say so, yeah." Aife supposed it was safe to say someone was your good friend if they let you drink their blood.

"I was wondering if you could provide me with some details about Sirius?"

Aife narrowed her eyes. "What kind of details?"

"Oh, you know, just some physical descriptions, key personality traits, phrases he uses often. Nothing too invasive, you know," Pomona rambled.

"Why?" Aife asked, her suspicion rising.

"Well... I'm writing this story about Sirius and James, like–"

"Sorry, I can't help you," Aife said quickly, wishing she could use a banishing charm on Bletchley. What a pervert.

"But no one else will help me!"

"Yes, well, maybe you and your fan club should stop writing gay porn about Potter and Sirius. Or at least be less obvious about what you're doing," Aife said, standing up and shutting her book. Aife had a good 5 inches on Bletchley, and it felt good to look down on her.

"Yes, right, you're right," Pomona said in a rushed mumble, blushing heavily, and scurried away. Aife supposed she had gotten her facial expression of "Get away or I'll hex you" correct. It was a satisfying feeling.

Aife went back to her book. She had found an interesting potion. It took a week or so to brew, but it would allow the user to tell whether someone is lying or not for 12 hours. Some ingredients looked difficult, and it required three different types of blood, including a half litre from the user. It seemed to be an entertaining thing, if executed correctly. Perhaps it could be her and Miyo's next project.

Growing bored, Aife returned to her common room in hopes of finding Miyo. Neptune happily ran towards her from the 6th year dormitory.

"Hey, cuddly," Aife said, picking up the fluffy grey kitty and stroking behind her ears. "Do you know where I can find Miyo?"

Neptune meowed and padded back to the common room. Miyo was there, indeed, deep in conversation with Moko.

"Look, I don't care if mother and father wish for me to marry him, it's not their fucking choice."

"But sister, I'm sorry, but you couldn't do too much better than–" Moko cut herself off. "Oh. Hi Aife."

Miyo's head turned as well. "Aife, hey." Miyo turned back to Moko.

"We'll continue this later," Miyo told her twin.

"Alright, but you can't avoid it forever."

"I said we will discuss it later," Miyo said, putting an angry emphasis on the last word. Moko shrugged and picked up a book from her nightstand, flopping down on her bed to read.

Miyo came over to sit on Aife's bed, which was farthest from Moko's. They chatted about everyday things, waiting for Moko to leave. They made their sentences sound irrate and pointed, heavily implying they wished for the other twin to go.

Finally, Moko took the cue to leave. She threw them a dirty look and stormed out the door.

Just as Jane walked in.

Aife and Miyo groaned.

Jane raised her eyebrows at them, but said nothing, as usual. Jane was from one of the more decent Slytherin pureblood families. The Selwyns were known for a prowess in business, and had built up a small fortune.

Jane acted the part of an aristocrat only in manner. She was quiet, but not in a timid or icy way, it just seemed that she didn't like to talk. Jane often faded into the background. Aife felt bad, but she often forgot the girl was even there most of the time.

"Do you mind if we put a Silencing charm around the bed?" Miyo asked, starting to draw the curtains.

Jane shook her head 'no'.

Aife flicked her wand at the curtains lazily.

"Show-off," Miyo muttered at Aife's non-verbal spell. Aife's magic had been given a small boost when she died, it was excellent.

"Stop, you'll blow a hole in my ego," Aife said dryly.

"Ha-ha," Miyo replied sarcastically. "Anyway, Moko is riding me and it's really annoying."

Aife snorted.

"Oh, don't be a pervert. My parents are trying to find pureblood families to marry us into. "Before all the good ones are taken"." Miyo made a disgusted face.

"Shit. Well, you knew it was gonna happen eventually," Aife said, leaning back against the headboard and crossing her ankles.

"Yeah. It still blows, though," she said, studying her hands intently. Aife wasn't sure if she was imagining the tears in Miyo's eyes. They were very subtle.

It was weird to see her friend act... human. Miyo usually kept up a guard, and Aife had only seen her vulnerable a couple times. Although Aife had little doubt that, in general, Miyo wasn't a great person. In terms of moral compass, mainly, but there were other bitchy and unsavory qualities as well. But, despite all that, Aife actually liked Miyo. Miyo was her friend and probably her best friend, next to Sirius. Aife wasn't sure what her and Sirius even were. She certainly didn't want to snog her other friends.

"I know," Aife said, trying to make her tone sound gentle. She wasn't great with other people's emotional baggage. Especially if it was unrelatable. If she had been through the situation, or something similar, before, then she could usually sympathize, or at least offer advice.

Arranged marriage would blow, as Miyo put it, but Aife found it kind of hard to feel bad for her. Or show any emotions on the subject. Lately, the only person who made any strong emotion arise in her was Sirius. Arranged marriage seemed like a fair karmic price to pay for being a brat.

"I have something that might cheer you up," Aife said, reaching for the fake copy of Advanced Transfiguration.

Miyo gave her an odd look.

"It's not actually a transfiguration book. There's a potion inside that works like Veritaserum, but in reverse. You take it, and you're a lie detector. The potion will let you know whenever anyone lies for 12 hours."

"Dark Arts?" Miyo asked hopefully.

Aife grinned.

"Excellent. It's been too long."

They went over the ingredients, checking to see if they had what they needed. Perhaps they would indeed need to take a trip to Diagon Alley. Perhaps even Knockturn Alley.

Aife and Miyo had done it once before. They created a portkey, unauthorized, of course, and went to Diagon Alley. It was near the end of their fifth year, on a hot late-Spring day. They'd mainly just went shopping and eaten ice cream.

However, going to Knockturn would be a lot riskier. It was more of a last resort.

Their conversation died, and they just laid there, side by side, staring up at the ceiling. Aife made a couple clouds, like the ones in her tower, float up to the ceiling. Weather spells were often temperamental, and had to be done in a calm and relaxed mood, like the one Aife was currently in.

"So did you hear about that Ravenclaw girl," Miyo said casually.

"What Ravenclaw girl?" Aife asked. Aife liked to gossip with Miyo occasionally. There was a hedonistic appeal to it.

"She got petrified. They can't wake her up. They're pretty sure it's a Chamber attack, because she was a muggleborn."

"What?" Aife said sharply. "When did it happen? Do you know who it was?" This certainly wasn't what Aife expected from Miyo's tone.

"Last night, I think. Maybe early this morning," Miyo looked at her nails. "And no, I have no clue."

"But what if it was Alice?" Aife asked in stunned silence.

"I doubt it. Alice is too smart to get petrified," Miyo said. "Actually, on second thought..." Miyo smirked.

"What the fuck, that's not a joking matter. Alice is our friend," Aife said angrily.

"Calm down. I'm sure it wasn't her."

"Have you seen her today? Was she at breakfast?" Aife demanded.

"No, I don't know. I don't usually sit at the Ravenclaw table."

Aife shook her head incredulously. "I'm gonna go make sure Alice is alright."

"With heroics like that you should be in Gryffindor."

"Bugger off, Miyo."

A/N: Finally finished. Sorry this took a bit longer than usual. It'll probably start taking me longer to write chapters, as the story wears on, but I promise to finish this, no matter how long it takes! ^_^ Mainly because I already have a next gen fic (ft. an OC) planned out that'll be a sequel to this one. I guesstimate there will be another 30k words in this fic, btw. Like 6 more chapters-ish. We'll see.

Word count: 6,776

Please review, you guys don't know how happy reviews make me. I'm actually a total hermit.

Tell me who you think is the Heir of Slytherin :)


End file.
